Grief from abandonment is different from grief from death.
Google Susan Anderson and Journey to Healing from Abandonment. She has a really helpful workbook that discusses the difference and helps you move through the process.
In some ways, what we are experiencing is similar to what family members feel when someone commits suicide...only, in our case, their is often NO closure.
It's very different to grieve when someone CHOOSES to leave you.
Trust the process and USE the anger to propel you forward when it strikes. The anger can be a valuable tool. And, if you work at it, you can often find anger underneath every stage because there's a part of you that feels wrongly accused/victimized and you have been. It's healthy to feel it. Often, for me--with practice, when I'm wallowing and feelings sad, I'm able to identify anger under the depression. It's that healthy part of me saying, "HEY!! HEY NOW! I didn't deserve this!!!" And, that's my soul crying out for me to see the sickness in my situation. It wasn't us.
"You know, it's times like these when I realize what a superhero I am." Tony Stark/Iron Man
“Focus on what you can do, then do it with all your heart.” Lois Wilson
