Is Going Through Change the Same as Bereavement?

Throughout life, there are circumstances that people go through that change them. These can be smaller life events when we are younger, like moving home and changing school, or more significant things as we get older like getting married, having children, getting divorced or losing a loved one. There is no denying that grief changes you, the big question that many people wonder about is whether bereavement is the same as going through some of these other changes.

In many ways, it is easy to see the similarities between several important life changes and death. Divorce, for example, could certainly be seen as a bereavement. This could include the loss of the future a couple might have imagined they would have together or the loss of full-time care by both parents for any children that the marriage might have produced. To understand both how grief changes you and how death can affect you, it is worth looking at the Kübler Ross Change Cycle.