Navigate Grief Without Falling Apart: The 7 Stages and Natural Support

Episode 4: Understanding Grief and the 7 Stages of Grief

Grief is one of the hardest experiences we face as humans, yet it's still so taboo to talk about openly. Whether you've lost a loved one, experienced a relationship breakdown, lost a beloved pet, faced redundancy, or struggled with infertility – grief shows up in so many ways.

In this episode, I'm walking you through the 7 stages of grief (according to bereavement charity Cruse), explaining why grief is so individual, and sharing how homeopathy and natural therapies can support you through this difficult time.

The 7 stages of grief:

1. Shock – 
2. Pain – 
3. Anger – 
4. Guilt – 
5. Depression – 
6. Longing – 
7. Other people's reactions – 

Why grief is individual:

• There's no right or wrong way to grieve
• Is time really a healer? (My honest thoughts on this)

How to support yourself or someone grieving:

• Where to find support (Cruse Bereavement Care, NHS counselling, support groups)

Homeopathic support for grief:

• Top remedies: Ignatia, Aurum met, Nat mur
• For shock: Arnica or Opium
• Bach Flower remedies (Star of Bethlehem, Walnut, Honeysuckle, Sweet Chestnut)
• How to match remedies to your specific symptoms

Resources mentioned: Cruse Bereavement Care (www.cruse.org.uk)

Perfect for: Anyone navigating grief or supporting someone who is.

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to the Homeopath in Your Pocket, where I help busy working mums discover how to support their family's health with confidence. Hi, I'm your host, Neela Prabhu, a licensed homeopath with 20 years of experience as a pharmacist. As a mum of two girls, I totally understand the juggle of family life firsthand. Each week, I'll share practical, actionable tips that you can use today to support your family's well-being. So let's get started. So, grief, it's not an easy topic, is it? However, it's something that most will face at some point in their lives. And I think it's important that we talk openly about it. Grief is an intense sorrow that's caused by someone's death. But we normally use the word grief in this context in the English language for losing a loved one. But the emotion of grief can be expressed by anyone who suffers loss. A relationship breakdown, the death of a beloved pet, redundancy, retirement, miscarriage or infertility. Grief shows up in so many ways. So I'm going to be walking you through the seven stages of grief according to the bereavement charity cruise, talking about why grief is so individual, and sharing how homeopathy and other natural therapies can support you through a really difficult time. So, stage one, shock. It can take a long time to sink in. Shock makes you feel numb. You might go through the motions of the funeral, the arrangements, the notifications, all while feeling you're not really there. And this numbness is the brain's way of protecting you from the full weight of the loss. Number two, pain. The pain can be overwhelming and scary. Losing anybody you care about hurts, including loved family pets. And the pain is not just emotional, it can be physical too. You can have a tightness in your chest, your stomach can ache. You can have a complete body exhaustion as the whole body is grieving. Stage three is anger. Anger is often a normal reaction to death. Feeling angry at someone dying too soon, or even at the person themselves for leaving you. Sometimes the anger can be directed inwards, things we didn't get to say or do. We might feel angry at the doctors or the situation or the unfairness of it all. And that's okay. Anger is all part of the process. Stage four is guilt. We may feel guilty or blame ourselves for the person's death. Could I have done more? Should I have visited more often? Why didn't I say I love you one more time? These guilty feelings surface if we didn't have a good relationship with a person, as well as if we did. There may have been years of unresolved conflicts or years of distance or no contact, and it complicates the grief even more. Stage five is depression. We may feel that life has no meaning after losing a loved one. We may also want to die to join them. This stage is heavy and dark. If in this stage and you're really struggling, please reach out for support. You don't have to go through it alone. My door is always open and my kettle is always on. Stage six is longing. Thinking that you're seeing or hearing the deceased person, which is very common. You might hear a voice or catch a glimpse in a crowd or feel their presence. It's the brain's way of trying to cope with the finality of the situation. It's not unusual and you're not losing your mind. It's just grief. And stage seven is other people's reactions. Often people don't know what to say. They might be scared to upset you or may say the wrong thing. They may want to avoid the topic entirely, but you may want to talk about the person who's passed away. And this mismatch can be quite frustrating and isolating. People normally mean well. They just don't always know how to show up for someone who's grieving. Grief is individual, and that is really important. Everyone grieves uniquely. There is no right or wrong way to grieve, and there's no appropriate time frame. Some people will cry a week later, some people will cry 45 years later, and that's okay. People grieve in many, many different ways. Some cry for weeks, some go back to work the next day and seem fine on the surface. Some avoid talking about it, and some can't stop talking about it. And none of these responses are wrong. Grief can come in waves. Years after the death of a loved one, a simple thing can trigger a grief reaction. A song, a smell, even a place can remind you of the person. You may see an item that you'd like to buy for them and think, oh, I saw this and thought of you. And then the sadness and loss hits you again as you realize it can't happen. These waves can come out of nowhere, even years later. So people often say that time is a healer. Is it really? I I'm not sure I entirely agree. Time may soften the edges, but I think you just learn to deal with the pain in other ways. You learn to carry it, you learn to live alongside it. The loss doesn't go away, you just get stronger at holding it. There is an analogy of grief which involves a cardboard box and a ball inside that cardboard box, where the ball inside the cardboard box represents your grief, and the cardboard box represents your life. And at the beginning, the box is touching the ball in all aspects. So the ball is touching every single side of the internal sides of the box. Because the grief at the beginning is all-consuming, all overwhelming. As time goes on, the box gets bigger, but not the ball. So you learn to carry it better. Sometimes the ball will roll and touch one of the sides of the box, and this is when you might walk into a shop and hear a song that reminds you of the person who's passed away. And that is sometimes a good analogy for grief. So getting support, there is specific grief counseling which is available from charities or the NHS. So the Cruise charity that I've mentioned, I'm going to put a link to their website in the show notes. And it can help someone feel that they're not alone and they're getting that extra support that they need. And there's no shame in asking for the help. It's one of the bravest things that you can do. So homeopathy for grief. Homeopathy, like grief, is individual. So there's no one size fits all remedy. And there are but there are key remedies that come up again and again for grief. So my top three homeopathic remedies for grief are Ignacia, Aurumet, and Natmure. And Ignacia is in my blue kit. Sometimes there is shock from the grief, so I would also recommend Arnica or Opium, and Arnica is in my blue kit. I'm not going to tell you exactly when to use each one. As I said, grief is individualized, but if you have a blue kit already at home, the guide inside helps to match the symptoms to the right remedy. Backflower remedies are also extremely powerful for grief because they just deal with emotions. I have a custom blend available, which I'll leave a link for in the show notes, which can be incredibly supportive during this time. But a few individual ones. So Star of Bethlehem is the main backflower remedy for shock and grief. Others can be blended depending on what you're feeling. So walnut for times of change, honeysuckle for longing for the past, sweet chestnut for deep anguish. So these are a few that you may want to reach out for. So what are your action steps that you can do right here, right now, if you're suffering or you know someone who is? Step one, allow yourself to feel. Don't push the grief down. Don't tell yourself you should be over it by now. Feel what you're feeling. Cry if you need to, scream if you need to, sit in silence if you need to. There's no wrong way to grieve. Step two, reach out for support, talk to a trusted friend or family member, and access grief counselling through the Cruise Charity or NHS. Join a support group. You don't have to carry this alone. And step three, try homeopathy or backflower remedies. So if you're wanting natural support alongside the counselling or on its own, my blue kit contains Ignacia and Arnica, which are the key remedies for grief and shock. My backflower custom blend is incredibly soothing. And you can also use the Backflower Rescue Remedy here as well. If you're still struggling and you would like longer-term support, feel free to book in a free discovery call with me. We can talk about what you're going through and how homeopathy can really help you through this time. The link will be in the show notes. So wrapping up, grief is an intense sorrow normally caused when someone close to you passes away, but it can also come from other losses, relationship breakdowns, pet deaths, and infertility. The seven stages of grief are shock, pain, anger, guilt, depression, longing, and dealing with other people's reactions. Everyone grieves differently. There's no right or wrong way, and there's no timeline. Time may soften grief, and you will learn to carry it rather than it disappearing completely. Homeopathy and backflower remedies can support you emotionally through the grief. The top three key remedies here are ignatia, orum, and napmure, and arnica and opium can be used for shock. Please reach out and ask for help because you don't have to go through it alone and you deserve support. Thanks for listening to today's episode. If you found this helpful, I'd be so grateful if you could leave a review as it helps other busy mums discover the show. If you want to dive deeper, book a free discovery call to see how we can work together one-to-one, or join me on Instagram at Homeopathic Harmony, where we can continue the conversation. And don't forget to grab your free guide to beating insomnia when you join my email list, because I know sleep is precious when you're juggling everything else. The links are in the show notes. I'll see you next week.