Metaphors for Grief to Help Understand the Grieving Process
The experience of grieving a loss is common to all humans. From small losses in daily life to larger losses such as death and separation, people have been trying to understand grief. Many people find that they cannot adequately describe or express their grief. Many other people have spent their lives trying to write about, explain, or understand the grieving process. Let’s look at several common metaphors. Perhaps one will resonate with you as you walk through grief yourself. The Grieving Process Commonly broken into five stages that are based on On Death and Dying, the 1969 book by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The five stages are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Many people may find they experience these stages in a different order. Some find they go back and forth in different stages. There has been a lot written about the five stages. Some have added stages like shock and anxiety. Some compress or rearrange the stages. Regardless of how it breaks down, the common thread is that grief is a process. It has definable qualities that a grieving person may experience, and that counselors can help you work through. This type of metaphor is commonly used in counseling as the landmark of a person’s journey through grief. Tunnels Speaking of journeying, many describe grief using the terms of tunnels. A tunnel limits your ability to see both peripherally and further ahead. There is an accompanying sense of uncertainty if you have never been through this tunnel. You don’t know where it ends or what exactly is waiting for you on the other side. The only way to get out of a tunnel is to keep moving. Staying still is not a healthy option and going around is not an available option. The same is true of grief. You [...]
