Have you ever experienced deep grief? How does it affect your daily life?
It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine explores the deep effects of grief on people. She unpacks the disruptions caused by significant loss and highlights the importance of acknowledging grief in our lives and in the lives of others.
Keep reading to understand how profound grief impacts us.
The Effects of Profound Grief
Devine examines the intense and often overwhelming impact of profound grief on individuals who have experienced a significant loss. The suddenness of a loss can render a person completely bewildered and broken. Grief disrupts the anticipated progression of events in life. Profound experiences may cause considerable disruptions to an individual’s emotional and mental well-being, as well as their bodily health. People inherently require that their profound grief be recognized and validated by those around them. Grieving often results in a deep feeling of loneliness and the impression that one’s suffering is beyond the understanding of others. Let’s take a closer look at these effects of grief.
Effect #1: Grief Disrupts Everyday Life
Profound grief is often compared to a significant detour from the expected journey of life. The world once recognizable to someone who has suffered a significant loss appears to crumble, altering all that was once known to them. The suffering is comparable to being suddenly propelled into a different reality where the usual pace of life is violently interrupted by a powerful surge of sorrow.
Effect #2: Grief Harms Physical Health & Psychological Well-Being
Devine poignantly conveys the chaos that ensues after experiencing a significant bereavement, expressing the intense grief that came with the sudden demise of their friend. She portrays the struggle of outwardly maintaining normalcy while battling severe internal chaos. Devine challenges the notion that grief is a catalyst for self-improvement, underscoring that those content with their existence prior to facing bereavement did not need such adversity to cultivate personal growth.
Effect #3: Grief Makes You Feel Alone
The book delves into Devine’s quest for personal narratives from those who have endured deep sorrow, emphasizing tales that eschew the rush for swift alleviation of their suffering. She points out that, when others fail to comprehend someone’s sorrow, it can result in a sense of isolation and an urgent requirement for direction in navigating the profoundly changed terrain of their existence.
The Importance of Acknowledging Grief
Acknowledging and expressing grief is highlighted as a crucial step toward healing. Recognizing the depth of grief in those who are grieving the loss of a loved one pays tribute to their suffering, affirming that their distress is deserving of recognition and esteem. Devine depicts the journey through grief as an intensely individual process, one that can be truly comprehended solely by individuals who have endured their own personal bereavement.
Devine provides profound perspectives, illustrating that navigating grief is an isolating and perplexing journey, starkly different from what seems to be the world’s usual state. She explores the profound isolation that arises when it appears that others minimize and do not understand the intensity of a person’s pain. Devine emphasizes the importance of recognizing grief, offering solace through respecting and accepting its true character rather than attempting to mend the anguish.
In her candid examination, Devine stresses the significance of recognizing grief in its purest form, delivering a powerful message about the essential human requirement for genuine connection in times of severe difficulty.
