A Metaphor To Help Guide You Through Grief

Loss is a profound shock to a person’s mental state. Bereavement or any other major loss feels like a mental injury, something has painfully been ripped out of you. Grieving is part of the process where the mind repairs itself and grows to accept the loss. This journey of grieving can be likened to the Snakes and Ladder’s board game.

In this children’s game you have to throw a six to start, that is a variable, and you might start straight away or have to wait a few throws. Such is grief, it might start straight away or it might, for many reasons, be delayed.

You progress along the board, randomly, following the will of the dice. At some point you are climbing ladders, these are the good times, with happy memories and pleasant days. Then you find yourself sliding down a snake, back into the emotional darkness and turbulence of grief. No matter how dark the place you enter into is, it will pass with another throw of the dice. Even though it feels as if these dark days will last forever, they do not. It is important to remember that no matter how many snakes you descend you never return to the starting point.

As it is a game of chance, relying on the dice, there is no time limit on how long the game will last or if it will run smoothly. Some are over quickly, some last a long time. Some consist only of ladders while others seem to be made up entirely of snakes. The same is true of the grieving process, there is no set time limit, and for each person grief takes as long as it needs to take. This board game can help put a perspective on your journey, as you can see you are making progress and that your grief is changing. It is a journey and there is an end.