Statistics About Grief

Average Grief Period – 5 to 8 Years

There is a very eye-opening statistic on the grief process.  This was reported in the January 9, 2005 issue of Time Magazine in an article by Claudia Wallis titled “The New Science of Happiness”.  This was based on a study by Edward Diener, who is an American psychologist, professor, and author. He is noted for his research over the past twenty-five years on happiness — the measurement of well-being; temperament and personality influences on well-being; theories of well-being; income and well-being; and cultural influences on well-being.

According to Diener, two events in a persons life with the greatest impact were shown to be loss of a spouse (taking 5-8 years for recovery) and loss of a job.  This is a significant part of one’s life to be stuck in limbo.  If there were a way to address the grief process that would reduce this to a much shorter period of time, wouldn’t we opt for this in a heartbeat?

Baby Boomers Facing Grief More Frequently 

The baby boomer generation is defined as someone  who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964.  This would make these baby boomers between 47 and 65

                                                                    

Source: U.S. Birth Rate – 1909 – 2003

At present it is estimated that there are about 80 million baby boomers in the U.S. today.  Because of their age, they are increasingly facing the death of their parents or their spouse.  This translates to a very big increase in the number of people who have or will be faced with the grief process.  The estimate of how many of these baby boomers who are currently suffering from grief because of the death or divorce is about 5 million.

If you or someone you care about is suffering from grief because of a major personal loss, wouldn’t it be better for them to seek out professional help.  It has been proven that this type of coaching, counseling or whatever you want to call it can help the person to deal with the grief process in the best possible way.  And if this results in this person being able to return to a productive, fulfilling and joy filled lifestyle, wouldn’t it be worth it?