Emotional compensation for loss
Emotional compensation for loss can be understood as a dynamic process of psychological adaptation through which individuals cope with the emotional consequences of a significant loss. It includes the acceptance of the loss, emotional processing, the mobilization of internal and external resources, the use of adaptive coping strategies, the reconstruction of personal meaning and identity, and the integration of the loss experience into a new life context, ultimately promoting emotional equilibrium and psychological well-being.
Saying goodbye means facing the reality of the loss. Understanding and accepting the reality of the loss, the realization that the loved one will never come back, is a determining factor in grief processing within the cognitive model of grief (Smid, 2020, p. 6).
Neimeyer, R. A. (2011). Reconstructing meaning in bereavement. Rivista di Psichiatria, 46(5–6), p. 332–336. https://doi.org/10.1708/1009.10982
Smid, G. E. (2020). A framework of meaning attribution following loss. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 11(1). Retrieved from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7678673/