Title: From Loss to Love | Psychology Today
Headings: From Loss to Love
From Loss to Love
The pain of loss is unavoidable, yet millions harm themselves trying to escape it. But loss has a sweet side, and when you open yourself to the pain, you open yourself to joy.
The Ubiquity of Loss
Pain Mishandled: The Feedback Loop from Hell
Mental Flexibility: The Path to Healing
Handling a Death vs Honoring a Life
How to Deal With the Pain of Loss
1: Acknowledge loss.
2: Embrace feelings of loss.
3: Expand your scope of vision.
4: Prepare to be overwhelmed.
5: Watch out for unhelpful thoughts.
6: Connect with what matters.
7: Take committed action.

Content: We're pretty good at learning how to avoid. But some forms—many forms—of psychological pain cannot be removed or diminished by a change in direction. They cannot be addressed by flinching, running, or hiding. They are permanent and ever present. Take the loss of someone you love. The sense of having lost someone or something, without any hope of recovering it, requires a profoundly different approach than jerking back from a hot pan. But the challenge it presents is clearer and more undeniable: It's not exceptional. You will go to your grave just a few words away from virtually any notable pain or loss you have ever experienced. Anytime, anywhere, human cognition can bring it back.