Most of this series has focused on grief at the end of life. But grief also plays a role in Healthy Survivorship at the time of diagnosis and evaluation, treatment, recovery and long-term survivorship.
That's because losses occur throughout survivorship, even when treatment and recovery are going well.
In my writings about hope as the second step to Healthy Survivorship, I talk about the value of finding a healthy balance of hope and acceptance. So, naturally, when reading the editorial Grief and Acceptance as Opposite Sides of the Same Coin I became intrigued by the relationship between hope and grief.
In Part II of this series, I quoted the editorial: "Acceptance,...[which] may represent emotional equanimity...that comes with the letting go of a struggle to regain what is lost or being taken away."
Does this mean grief may reflect the struggle to regain what is lost or being taken away?
Could it be this ongoing struggle that links everything together, with grief reflecting the striving to go back to where you were before the loss? And hope reflecting the striving toward a new normal that integrates the loss?
Next: The struggle.
Keep it up, Wendy. This is great stuff...
Posted by: Andrea Gauthier | February 11, 2012 at 08:05 PM
Thanks for this series. It is really helpful.
Posted by: Anonymous | February 12, 2012 at 07:29 AM
Yes, do keep up the discourse. There's much more to digest about grief than meets the eye. Jan
Posted by: Jan Baird Hasak | February 12, 2012 at 09:03 AM