How Does Compounded Grief Affect Our Coping Abilities?

In our lifetime, we must overcome many different forms of grief, that just seem to continue to pile up. But as they happen we may not have always been successful at moving forward from a previous incident, thus our grief keeps pilling on top of each other until one day we hit rock bottom. The term of compounded grief is exactly that, when all of your grief from over a lifetime gets comprised together, and then causes us to downward spiral over one tragic event, such as death.

When it comes to grieving, it is important to move through the steps of the process. Every single person has their own way to deal with grieving and death, but it is important to help yourself heal through those events. Think of a vulnerable structure, like a bridge made out of paper, as you start piling more and more onto this already damaged structure, it will give out. That vulnerable structure represents you as you deal with grief and coping skills, if you are not able to rebuild yourself, through each event, something tragic like death will cause you to completely fall apart.

When it comes to compounded grief and our coping abilities, they do not go hand in hand. They are two things that do not work well together. They are unable to coincide; you cannot heal or cope when you are trying to heal from a multitude of other events. It’s important that if you see yourself or others going through these stages but not fully healing, that you find a way to get help or help them get help. Some view getting help as a weakness, but it is your first step in helping you build a strong structure and help you in the future.

If you have any further questions on the topic, please contact us at Fee & Sons Funeral Home and Crematorium.