Grieving - Losing Loved Ones

Sorrow is an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement. Sorrow is sadness associated with some wrong doing or from some disappointment that causes great unhappiness. The state of being sad. Feeling grief.



Grief is a response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, and philosophical dimensions.

Bereavement refers to the state of loss, and grief is the reaction to loss.

Grieving is intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one, especially by death.

Mourning is grief over someone's Death. Grief and Loss.

Lament is to express grief verbally. A cry of sorrow and grief. A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person. A mournful poem; a lament for the dead. Lament is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner, where the participant would lament about something they regret or someone they've lost, usually accompanied by wailing, moaning and/or crying. Laments constitute some of the oldest forms of writing and examples are present across human cultures.

Saying Goodbye to People who Died

Funeral is a ceremony for someone who has died. A meeting of people and observances connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect the dead, from interment, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. Customs vary between cultures and religious groups. Common secular motivations for funerals include mourning the deceased, celebrating their life, and offering support and sympathy to the bereaved; additionally, funerals may have religious aspects that are intended to help the soul of the deceased reach the afterlife, resurrection or reincarnation. Keeping in Touch.

Memorial Service is giving various prayers for the departed and comforting the living, and reminding the living of their own mortality and the brevity of this earthly life. For this reason, memorial services have an air of penitence about them. If the service is for an individual, it is often held at the deceased's graveside. If it is a general commemoration of all the departed, or if the individual's grave is not close by, the service is held in a church, in front of a special small, free-standing "memorial table", to which is attached an upright crucifix and with a candelabra for the faithful to put lighted candles.

Obituary - Eulogy - Legacy - Last Wishes

How to Pay Your Respects (wiki how) - Make a Goodbye Video for the Death of a Loved one - Thru My Eyes

Wake is a social gathering associated with the death of a person, usually held before a funeral. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home or another convenient location. A wake is also sometimes held in place of a funeral as a social celebration of the person's life. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing. It is often a social rite that highlights the idea that the loss is one of a social group and affects that group as a whole. The term originally referred to a late-night prayer vigil but is now mostly used for the social interactions accompanying a funeral. While the modern usage of the verb wake is "become or stay alert", a wake for the dead harks back to the vigil, "watch" or "guard" of earlier times. It is a misconception that people at a wake are waiting in case the deceased should "wake up". - Burial Options.

Posthumous is something occurring or coming into existence after a person's death.

Godspeed is a statement of wishing someone a prosperous journey, or success. An expression of good wishes to a person starting a journey.

Requiem is a mass celebrated for the dead. A musical setting for a mass celebrating the dead. A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person.

Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican heritage elsewhere. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and helping support their spiritual journey. In Mexican culture, death is viewed as a natural part of the human cycle. Mexicans view it not as a day of sadness but as a day of celebration because their loved ones awake and celebrate with them. In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Amazing Grace (Lyrics) - Susan Boyle (youtube)
Scottish Bagpipes - Amazing Grace (youtube)
Tapps: Melissa Venema and Andre Rieu Silenzo, Maastrich 2008 (youtube)
The Great Gig In The Sky (Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon - 1973 - Clare Torry) (youtube)

Kiyomi - Little Angel [Lyric Video] - Produced by Kevin Bents (youtube) - Little Angel, your face is everywhere today, Pure precious beauty, how can we comprehend? All that we can do, is send a prayer your way And we’ll close our eyes and feel you, your soul is here, near us now, Go to sleep little angel, go to sleep, beautiful soul, Your loved ones ache to see you, but will see you soon one day, We know you’re in a better place, a beautiful, light paradise, Till then your memory, can bring us solace and ease, Your Soul is still here with us, in our hearts and in our dreams Sleep in peace little angel, sleep in peace, beautiful soul beautiful soul (Instrumental), Go to sleep little angel, go to sleep, beautiful soul, You’re in my heart for always, and I’m sending a prayer your way.

What Most People would like to Say to a Deceased Relative or Friend. "I Love You"  "I Thank You"  "I Forgive You"  "Please Forgive Me". Christina Aguilera "Hurt" (youtube).

Afterglow by Helen Lowrie Marshall.
I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done.
I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days.
I’d like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun;
Of happy memories that I leave when life is done.

I’d like to leave some valuable knowledge and information as well. (Legacies)

Irish Blessing - (May God Give You For Every Storm A Rainbow) (youtube)
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be ever at you back
May the sunshine warm upon your face
And the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May god hold you, may god hold you
Ever in the palm of his hand
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be ever at your back
May the sunshine upon your face
And the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May god hold you, may god hold you
Ever in the palm of his hand
Ever in the palm of his hand
The palm of his hand.


The void after someone dies: There is no void, only a temporary space that will soon be filled with wonderful memories. Life will not be the same after you lose a loved one, but remember, life never stays the same. Life is always evolving and changing, and every person who has ever live was an important part of this process. An ongoing never ending continuum.

Some people believe that Some People Don't Fully Grow Up Until We Lose Our Parents. Some people also believe that there are some lessons that only grief and responsibility can teach us. This is true and false. Because we can learn either way. And we don't necessary need to learn the hard way, especially when there is no guarantee that the person will learn correctly or accurately. And the type of changes that you will experience will also depend on how old you are, and how knowledgeable you are. "At the end of everyday we should pay our last respects to the thousands of our fellow humans that have died prematurely in the world today. Let them know that they will always be dear to our hearts, and that we will carry on, and we will keep moving forward, till that one day when we meet our loved ones again, on that beautiful day, a day where everyone lives, and no one ever dies before their time is done To bare the pain without breaking is sometimes the best that we can do.


Half-Mast refers to a flag flying below the summit on a pole. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or in some cases, a salute. Strictly speaking, flags are said to be half-mast if flown from ships, and half-staff if on land, although not all regional variations of English use "half-staff". The tradition of flying the flag at half-mast began in the 17th century. According to some sources, the flag is lowered to make room for an "invisible flag of death" flying above. However, there is disagreement about where on a flagpole a flag should be when it is at half-staff. It is often recommended that a flag at half-staff should be lowered only as much as the hoist, or width, of the flag. British flag protocol is that a flag should be flown no less than two-thirds of the way up the flagpole, with at least the height of the flag between the top of the flag and the top of the pole. It is common for the phrase to be taken literally and for a flag to be flown only half way up a flagpole, although some authorities deprecate that practice. When hoisting a flag that is to be displayed at half-mast, it should be raised to the finial of the pole for an instant, then lowered to half-mast. Likewise, when the flag is lowered at the end of the day, it should be hoisted to the finial for an instant, and then lowered.

Shock - Sorrow - Process - Solutions

5 Stages of Grief is a series of emotions that are experienced by some people after the loss of a loved one, or when finding out that they're going to die sooner than expected. Transitions.

Denial – The first reaction is denial. In this stage, individuals believe the diagnosis is somehow mistaken, and cling to a false, preferable reality.

Anger – When the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue, they become frustrated, especially at proximate individuals. Certain psychological responses of a person undergoing this phase would be: "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; "Who is to blame?"; "Why would this happen?".

Bargaining – The third stage involves the hope that the individual can avoid a cause of grief. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. People facing less serious trauma can bargain or seek compromise. For instance: "I'd give anything to have him back." Or: "If only he'd come back to life, I'd promise to be a better person!"

Depression – "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die soon, so what's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?" During the fourth stage, the individual despairs at the recognition of their mortality. In this state, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time mournful and sullen.

Acceptance – "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it; I may as well prepare for it." In this last stage, individuals embrace mortality or inevitable future, or that of a loved one, or other tragic event. People dying may precede the survivors in this state, which typically comes with a calm, retrospective view for the individual, and a stable condition of emotions.

Letting Go means having trust that things will get better. It means being brave to move forward to get to where you want to be. Letting go means accepting the things you can't change and doing something about the things you can. Letting Go.

Coping means to invest own conscious effort, to solve personal and interpersonal problems, in order to try to master, minimize or tolerate stress and conflict.

Stress Relief Tips - Relaxation Techniques

Adapting is to conform oneself to new or different conditions. Make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose. Adaptation enhances the fitness and survival of individuals. People who face a succession of challenges as they grow and develop, become equipped with an adaptive plasticity in response to the imposed conditions. Adaptive Competence.

Patience - Balance - Counseling - Therapy

Loss, Grief and Bereavement Resources

Trauma - Crime - Violence

Disappointment is the feeling of dissatisfaction that follows the failure of expectations or hopes to manifest. Similar to Regret, it differs in that a person feeling regret focuses primarily on the personal choices that contributed to a poor outcome, while a person feeling disappointment focuses on the outcome itself. It is a source of psychological stress. The study of disappointment—its causes, impact, and the degree to which individual decisions are motivated by a desire to avoid it—is a focus in the field of decision analysis, as disappointment is one of two primary emotions involved in decision-making.

Self-Pity is a feeling of sorrow (often self-indulgent) over your own sufferings. Don't Blame Yourself.

Learned Helplessness is when someone endures repeatedly painful or otherwise aversive stimuli in which it is unable to escape or avoid. After such experience, the person often fails to learn or accept "escape" or "avoidance" in new situations where such behavior would likely be effective. In other words, the person learned that it is helpless in situations where there is a presence of aversive stimuli and has accepted that it has lost control, and thus gives up trying. Such a person is said to have acquired learned helplessness.

Cry - Sob - Weep

Crying is not a sign of weakness. Crying is a natural response to pain, discomfort or deep sadness. Crying is an instinct given to us at birth. Since babies are born without an effective way to communicate, the Baby uses this Instinctual response of crying to communicate to its mother, so the mother knows that the child is feeling discomfort or pain. As we get older, even though adults have mastered language, crying is still used to Communicate Discomfort or Pain. But most adults stop crying because of physical pain, mostly because adult have learned over time that there is no need for crying and also that they have also built up a tolerance for pain.

Crying is the shedding of Tears or welling of tears in the eyes in response to an emotional state, pain or a physical irritation of the eye. Emotions that can lead to crying include anger, happiness, or sadness. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secretomotor phenomenon characterized by the shedding of tears from the lacrimal apparatus, without any irritation of the ocular structures", instead, giving a relief which protects from conjunctivitis. A related medical term is lacrimation, which also refers to non-emotional shedding of tears. Various forms of crying are known as sobbing, weeping, wailing, whimpering, bawling, and blubbering. For crying to be described as sobbing, it usually has to be accompanied by a set of other symptoms, such as slow but erratic inhalation, occasional instances of breath holding and muscular tremor. A neuronal connection between the lacrimal gland (tear duct) and the areas of the human brain involved with emotion has been established. Scientists debate over whether humans are the only animals that produce tears in response to emotional states. Charles Darwin wrote in The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals that the keepers of Indian elephants in the London Zoo told him that their charges shed tears in sorrow. Tears produced during emotional crying have a chemical composition which differs from other types of tears. They contain significantly greater quantities of the Hormones prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and Leu-enkephalin, and the elements potassium and manganese..

Weeping is the process of shedding tears and showing sorrow, usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds. To shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain.

Sobbing is a convulsive gasp made while weeping. Convulsive is involuntary jerky muscular contractions, sometimes resembling a spasm.

Tearjerker is a sentimental story, movie, or song, calculated to evoke sadness or sympathy. An excessively sentimental narrative.

Catharsis is the purging of emotional tensions. The purification and purgation of emotions that results in renewal and restoration.

Cathartic is providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions that releases emotional tension, especially after an overwhelming experience. Cathartic can also mean to purge the body by the use of a cathartic to stimulate evacuation of the bowels.

Stress Relief Tips

Some adults even avoid crying because it's perceived to be a sign of weakness. But besides physical pain, adults now have a new kind of pain, Emotional Pain. Even though it's a Perceived pain it is still a form of communication. And there's nothing wrong with communicating as long as it's honest and genuine. But if crying is done over a long period of time, or recurring to frequently, then it is time to seek help.

Pseudobulbar Affect is a type of affect characterized by involuntary crying or uncontrollable episodes of crying and/or laughing, or other emotional displays. PBA occurs secondary to a neurologic disorder or brain injury. Patients may find themselves crying uncontrollably at something that is only moderately sad, being unable to stop themselves for several minutes. Episodes may also be mood-incongruent: a patient might laugh uncontrollably when angry or frustrated, for example. Sometimes, the episodes may switch between emotional states, resulting in the patient crying uncontrollably when having sex. While typically caused by physiological damage or disorder, emotional lability is known to accompany certain personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder.

Depression - Emotions - Know Thyself - Emergencies

Sports - Exercise - Meditation - Anxiety

"I sympathize with people, but I don't feel sorry for people, because feeling sorry for someone does not help them, or help me." "For crying out load, what are you doing?" Life Organizers.

Only Humans Shed Emotional Tears: Every other animal that produces tears has a physiological reason for doing so.

My Immortal - Evanescence (youtube)
I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me.
You used to captivate me by your resonating light
Now, I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me
These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me, I've been alone all along
When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
You still have all of me, me, me.