When we speak about emotions there will be a variety of them happening. However, it is good to understand emotions in a deeper sense.
Sadness:
This is a natural response to death. Sadness is the feeling experienced when a person who is loved has passed away. The sadness over the presence of that person being no longer there. This feeling is exaggerated when there is some unfinished business. A sadness that there is some event or emotion that is left undiscussed or unworked on. A sadness over the loss of the person is certain but the sadness would be amplified if there are things that are still pending to be worked in terms of their relationship.
How long will sadness last?
There is no specific timeline for grief and sadness. Some people will feel better within days while others may take about a few months. There are those who may take several years to get over the death of a loved one.
This feeling can be overwhelming. Why is this feeling so hard to deal with?
Let’s look at a case study to understand this better:
Shally is a 60-year-old woman who just lost her mother. Her mother had been diagnosed with cancer and she had been taking care of her mother for 3 years now. She was very close to her mother. When her mother passed away, she was inconsolable. She had only her mother as her companion, she was all alone. She found herself crying whenever she felt sad. Nothing could make her happy, nothing made her happy. She just had this overwhelming sense of sadness. She has never spoken much about her feelings to anyone.
For Shally this is very difficult. Over time this sadness will get easier to deal with is what she has heard. However, she doesn’t seem to be feeling better.
Some aspects that can be considered to be done to handle sadness:
1. Accept the feelings: It is important for Shally to let herself experience the feelings that surround her with the passing away of her mother. If these feelings are denied or buried then later it will grow and explode later in a more combustible manner.
2. Use relaxation techniques: There are many techniques that will help to relieve these feelings of sadness. Deep breathing usually helps in this aspect.
Talk about the loss: It is important to talk about the loss and the emotions associated with the death. Try and reach out to individuals that they trust so that there is accountability with these emotions.
3. Remembering the good times: it is important to help the individual remember the good times that they enjoyed. Celebrate the moments of joy that they had in the family or that they had together.
4. Self – care: It is important to understand what will help the individual manage through the difficult times. Self-care can be taking to gardening to calm the mind or may be even do some singing if that helps. Adopting some self-care methods will help the individual calm down.
5. Get a support system – It is important to have a group of people that you can identify with. This will help you to share the emotions that you are going through. It will also give the individual a sense of companionship.
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