Moving on from grief and breaking the cycle of negative energy Throughout life we all experience grief. There are a multitude of reasons why this can be so. You may have a loved one die or become seriously ill, you may lose a pet, you may have to move on from a job, a place or a group of people that have been a big part of your life for a long time. The risk of not dealing with grief appropriately is that the emotion takes over your life and creates a cycle of negative energy where you stop looking after yourself and become unable to let go of the sadness and loss, risking mental of physical illness. How can you deal well with grief? Give yourself time. Grieving is not a 24 hour virus, you will need to journey through the 5 stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) over a period of time. This will vary from person to person but can be weeks, through to months, or even longer. It is important to allow yourself to actually feel sad and to be able to express this, so make sure that you are giving yourself the opportunity to do so. Don’t rush back to work after bereavement leave, forcing yourself to be in a situation where you need to be professional and action-orientated rather than allowing