We experience grief from losing something important to us; it can be a career, a friend, a relationship, a relative, or a pet. Watching somebody we love perish, human or animal, is obscenely harsh. The misery we feel is intense, but the intensity of grief may be more moving to us than any other experience in our life. Yet, on the other hand, a loss is an opportunity to participate in our world in a new way, to feel more, and to appreciate the sanctity of breathing and the connections with people around us that we love. Life becomes apparent to us: delicate, exquisite, and brief, like the magnificence of a flower that we observe losing its petals.

The recovery process demands some isolation and time equal to the vigor of the relationship we no longer have. Those individuals or animals intertwined in our daily existence must evolve into sweet and gentle memories. Unfortunately, the transition we go through to achieve this stillness is anything but kind. Although watching our loved one perish seems cruel, this experience is much more complex and heartbreaking for those left behind to heal.

There are many views on the phases of grief. To anybody who has encountered the loss of someone or something meaningful or dear, it is an intense but somewhat simple process. According to our experts on counseling in Winter Park, the following are some of the feelings people experience when coping with loss.