The following information was taken from the book Healthwise for LIFE 7^th Edition:

The Biggest Challenge of Aging: Loss and Life Change

Change is as much a part of our lives as breathing. We change physically – from babies to teens to adults. We change roles – from daughters and sons to mothers and fathers, from workers to retirees. Our relationships change too, as we grow and as our needs change.

Change can hurt. Any big change means a loss of some kind. And the changes seem to come faster as the years go by. More and more, you may have to let go of what used to be and embrace new things. For many people, this is life’s toughest challenge.

Change and loss come in many forms: Death. Loss of a job or your home. Loss of loved ones, friends, or pets. Loss of youth, health, or physical abilities. Life is full of losses. Like everyone, you have a natural, healing process that can help you adjust to change and loss. It’s call grief.

Grieving

Grief is all the feelings that come with loss. When you have a great loss, like the death of someone you love, the changes are big and the feelings will be strong. Don’t try to avoid grief. It catches up with you sooner or later. Trying not to grieve may lead to mental and physical problems.

It may help you to look at some of the ways you have dealt with loss in the past. What helped you cope? Knowing that you have survived loss before can give you hope when you feel overwhelmed by grief.

Grief is also a process of adjusting to the loss. Moving through the process of grief can help you deal with your sorrow in a healthy way.

1. You will need to accept that the loss has happened.

At first, you may feel so shocked and numb that you can’t believe your loved one is gone. As time passes, the loss will sink in.

1. You will need to experience and accept the pain of the loss.

As you start to really believe your loved one is gone, you may feel a lot of pain, both emotional and physical. Emotional pain includes sorrow, anger, guilt, loneliness, and despair. You may have real physical pain too, such as tiredness, loss of appetite, headaches, or sleep problems. This is an especially important time to keep up healthy habits.

1. You will need to adjust to changes in your life.

A great loss brings other losses with it. With the loss of a spouse or partner, you lose someone close to talk to, the person who touched you every day, and the person who took on some of the daily tasks like cooking or balancing the checkbook. Each of these changes can be a loss on its own. Just knowing this may help you get through it.

1. 4. You will need to reinvest and move on with your life.

We do not get over losses. We get through them. Life will never be the same as it was before the loss. But a time will come when you will regain your balance and start to reconnect with the world.

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