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Overcoming  loss

Teen grief can be overwhelming. Loss and life changes can happen at any point in lifeUnfortunately, although we may wish we could protect out youth. Sadly, we can’t always do that. That said, learning to deal with overcoming sorrow at this early stage in life can help them in their adulthood. As the adults in their lives, we can help them by learning about heartbreak and pain how we handle our own sorrows.

Teen grief

Teen Grief

Points often overlooked the different stages of grief one goes through. With this in mind it is probably easier to identify with other people than in ourselves. So lets go over this it’s good idea to be familiar with them. Not everyone goes through every stage or in the same order, so don’t look at this as a hard-and-fast rule. 

Teen Grief signs

The stages in the five-stage model are:
1. Denial: “This must be a mistake.” “He’ll be back home any second.”
2. Anger: “I hate her!” “How could he do this to me?”
3. Bargaining: “If I’d stayed home, this wouldn’t have happened.” “If I’d just caught it sooner…”
4. Depression: “There’s no point in living, anymore.” “Where do I even go from here?”
5. Acceptance: “We had many happy moments together.” “This was really the best decision.”

Teen grief

Teen Grief

Important to realize, If someone has clinical depression, it becomes even harder to reach the final acceptance stage. That’s why coping mechanisms are important, especially for people who are struggling with depression. Consequently, parents and guardians with the best of intentions must try to not express child should not cry or be sadThis is the wrong way to deal with this.

Overcome with grief

In the event your child is grieving allowing them to cry, and expresses how they are feeling is healthy. Important to know, As long as they are not hurting themselves or anyone else, let them go through their processIn other words, you should acknowledge their feelings and do not invalidate them.

Teen grief

Teen grieving

Be patient and available, let them open up when they are ready. Everyone copes in different ways and it’s important that both you and they know that that is okay. It’s also important to make sure that they know that it’s okay to experience happiness while grieving, too. A lot of young people feel guilty for this, especially after the loss of a loved one, so let them know that it does not mean they did not love their lost loved one.


As they go through their grieving process, try to maintain normalcy. Continue your everyday routine as much as possible, allow them to go and spend time with friends and family, and stuff like that. As you do, though, it would be a good idea to check with adults in their lives to be sure they’re okay. At times like these, the risk for self-destructive behavior goes up, so you need to know when it is time to step in and intervene.
As teens deal with grief, they are developing coping skills that will help them later in life. Guide them but don’t be overbearing. Eventually, they will come out stronger for having experienced this.