Grief

DISCLAIMER: Dawson McAllister Live does not engage in professional counseling of any sort. The resources that you are about to view are for support and guidance only. They are not intended to give authoritative advice, nor should they be seen as a replacement for professional counseling. These resources are best seen as a beginning point for those who are interested in getting help.

WARNING: The audio clips and stories contained in these resources may cause emotional pain to those who are struggling with the issues discussed.

Welcome to The HopeLine Virtual Coach for the issue of grief. Below you will find stories, information, and resources dealing with the issue. Before you get started with the Virtual Coach, please listen to a DMLive caller talk to Dawson about their struggle with grief. To hear the call, please click here.


Susan’s Story
It’s been two months since Susan’s mom died in an auto accident. Susan and her mom were very close, but it was not always that way. Susan is now seventeen, but when she was thirteen she and her mom began to fight often. On more than one occasion Susan’s dad had to get between Susan and her mom. The fighting went on for three years until Susan and her mom began to talk more. Now more than ever Susan is thankful that she and her mom had a chance to reconcile their relationship. Even though they became friends, Susan cannot help but to feel guilty. She thinks about all of the times that she said hurtful things to her mom and would give anything if she could take them back. Susan misses her mom very much. She doesn’t sleep very much and she spends a lot of time alone. Susan’s dad tries to talk to her, but he is having a hard time dealing with the tragedy as well. Susan just feels like crying, and she spends a lot of time doing that. Over the past two months she has felt a wide range of emotions including anger, guilt, sorrow, sadness, and unbelief. People tell Susan that she will get back to normal eventually, but Susan is not convinced. Right now all she can think about his her mom and how much she misses her.

Your Story
Grief will affect everyone at some point as everyone will go through a significant loss in their life at some point. Experiencing loss is a part of life. But it is not an easy part. Whether the loss comes through the death of someone important, a move away from home, the divorce of your parents, the end of a long-term dating relationship, or something else, an appropriate and healthy response to loss is to grieve. Grief is not a single emotion, but it is a combination of emotions that are experienced by most people who suffer a loss. In fact, most people experience grief in stages. Initially, when people suffer a loss, they experience shock and denial. They simply cannot believe that they have lost something of such great importance to them. The second stage is one in which the person grieving may try to bargain with God to bring their loved one back, or to return the situation back to normal. They are likely to spend time fantasizing about what they might do differently if the person were to return. In the third stage of grief, people often experience depression and feel very sad and tearful. The fourth stage of depression involves a lot of anger. Finally, the fifth stage provides a time when the grieving person comes to terms with the new way of life that emerges after the loss.

Have you recently suffered a loss that has resulted in you grieving? Has your grief caused you to experience some of the emotions that Susan felt, or some of the stages of grief? Remember, people grieve over many different types of losses. Sometimes the loss may not seem like a big deal at first, but it can have an emotional effect on the person. If you are grieving the loss of someone or something, then this Virtual Coach is for you. Grieving can be a very difficult and sometimes long process, but please remember: hope exists and help is available. Return to the Virtual Coach Menu.