Note: The information in this section is provided for educational purposes and cannot substitute for a professional evaluation by a physician or mental health practitioner. If you have any concerns or specific questions about your behavior or health contact your physician or healthcare practitioner.

All I know from my own experience is that the more loss we feel
the more grateful we should be for whatever it was we had to lose.
It means that we had something worth grieving for.
The ones I'm sorry for 
are the ones that go through life not knowing what grief is.

Loss is the sudden deprivation or disappearance of something cherished by the individual. It is a common experience that can be encountered many times during a lifetime; it does not discriminate for age, race, sex, education, economic status, or nationality. Grief is the normal reaction to the loss. It is the means by which the bereaved begin accepting the reality of a loss or an event which will change their lives.

Grieving people must recognize that contrary to popular beliefs, they may never "get over" their grief. They may experience certain major losses—diagnosis of a terminal illness or the ultimate loss of a child, spouse or loved one to death—that are forever losses. The grief response will endure as long as the person is alive. Fortunately so too will the memories of good times and love shared with the person lost that serve to remind them to be grateful to have something worth grieving for.

Each person travels on his or her own unique Journey of Grief in experiencing the loss. Each
person's experience of loss will have subtle nuances that will make it unlike any other loss, but the commonality—the grief response—with the intense feelings of loss, anger, depression, loneliness, fear, frustration, desperation, these are emotions that others will have also felt, endured and survived. Education is one of the best ways to understand the grief response and aide the grieving in learning how to deal with loss, crisis or significant change, and aid in the transition to a new life.

We have complied a variety of information and links to additional resources for those who are interested in learning more about the "normal" grief response and helping or the grieving adult. (For information on the Complications of Grief, see the separate section.) Some of the resources are new articles, others are links to information from the original version of Journey of Hearts.™ Fortunately, much of the information on grief and loss is timeless so the main content on grief and loss created for the original version of the site is still accurate, informative and relevant.

• How Can I Help?
• How Can I tell if Someone is Depressed?
• Being a Supportive Friend To a Grieving Person
• A Friend in Grief: How to Help a Bereaved Parent
• Dealing with Death & Grief in the Workplace - Part 1: Employees
• Dealing with Death & Grief in the Workplace - Part 2: Management
• Helping Families Deal With Loss Through the Journaling Process
• Please Listen and Just Hear Me
• Your Compassionate Friend
• Listen to a Teenager It May Save a Life
• Send a Virtual Postcard from Journey of Hearts™