Dealing with grief can seem like a task that never ends when you are in the middle of it. Death, divorce or loss of job can all weigh heavy on your mind and seem endlessly painful. Recognizing your pain and taking steps to recover is important to you for healing.

When confronting a loss, keep in perspective the overwhelming nature of the actual event. Do not turn to alcohol or prescription medication to add to a numbing effect. Your body will naturally go into a numbing and self-protective mode during the first few weeks. Any substances that you depend on to cope may have addictive properties and soon be abused.

Talk to as many people as you can about your loss. Many people feel uncomfortable confronting their emotions, but talking about a painful situation with friends or family can accelerate healing. These discussions can especially be therapeutic if the loss is a shock to you.

If you have difficulty talking to other people in person about the situation, you may want to join online support groups for interaction through the Internet and to gain outside support. These forums can allow you to type out your thoughts on sorrow and what your are experiencing as you move through the process. You could gain new insight from these sessions through the help of others.

Private journaling also can be good to get your thoughts on paper and out in the open to review. Often, writing can provide deep, personal therapy to help you get your head around a particularly troubling loss. You can choose never to read the previous pages, or go back and review to see what progress you are making in your sorrow.

Feel free to seek counseling on a professional level if you feel you need additional help and self-help techniques are not helping completely. While talking to friends or others online can help, professional assistance may be of use to you as well for reinforcement in helping you cope. These counselors can help keep your conversation focused and help give you advice in recovering. They can help dispel some of the common myths about grief and loss

Time does heal, but it can take a significant amount of work on your part when dealing with grief. When you seek appropriate ways of handling your loss, you can manage your sadness and get back to a life that feels more normal. You may never forget this period in your life, but you could gain a new perspective on how to cope.