What Matters Now: Enhancing Positive Emotions During the Grieving Process

I've been doing a fair amount of reading lately on loss and grief and recently came across this article by Camille Wortman, PhD on the This Emotional Life blog.  Wortman steers away from the negative emotions generally accepted with the 5 Stages of Loss and Grief (denial/isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) and draws attention to the positive emotions that often come with loss as well (gratitude, pride, hope, love...) and the importance these positive emotions play in our ability to cope.

What struck me most about this article was the positive reframe Wortman presents, "what matters to me now?"  What mattered before the loss is most likely very different from what matters now, and the process of identifying this shift may provide a renewed sense of purpose and joy.  For example, loss of a spouse may shift focus to being the best parent or grandparent you can be.  Or loss of a loved one may increase your desire to help prevent the same thing from happening to someone else (e.g. Mothers Against Drunk Driving or Team in Training).  Engaging in this new purpose may help increase positive emotions over time and even strengthen family relations.

Check out the full article here for more on increasing positive emotions during the grieving process.