When we lose a loved one, it can feel like we have lost a piece of ourselves.
Grief is an emotion that takes processing, and usually occurs in 5 stages. Everyone handles grief in their own way, but there are some common experiences shared among those that are grieving a loss. Much like everything else in our lives, technology has stepped up to make the grieving process easier. But what does that mean?
What Are the 5 Stages of Grief?
Grief is said to occur in stages. Each stage brings about different emotions and experiences. Many that have gone through grief over the loss of a loved one will tell you that it is not a linear process. Sometimes you will fluctuate between different stages, and sometimes even experience more than one at a time.
Understanding what stage you are experiencing can help you in processing and understanding your grief. So we will discuss these 5 stages and explain common experiences with each.
The first stage of grief is denial. Denial is quite literally the absolute lack of acceptance that a death has occurred. While many fluctuate between the stages of grief, denial is almost universally the first one that is experienced. Often it is hard to notice the feelings and issues one is experiencing, so they will be noticed by others first. Denial can look like avoidance to others, or even manifest itself as forgetfulness and procrastination. Internally, you may begin to feel shock or confusion. Many even describe this stage as feeling “numb.”
Anger is another stage of grief, and this is usually the most obvious sign that you are starting to process the loss in your life. Those around you will most likely notice you being more irritable, sarcastic, argumentative, or in some cases, violent. You may notice that you have little patience, you are more easily frustrated, or an increase in the use of alcohol. The anger stage of grief can be one of the most difficult and dangerous.
One of the least understood stages of grief is the bargaining stage. In this stage, you may find yourself feeling guilty. Your anxiety may rise. Others may start to notice you are ruminating on the past more often, or comparing yourself to others. You might come across as judgmental, and even start more sentences with “I should have…”. While this may sound innocuous, it is believed that more suicides occur during the bargaining stage of grief than any other.
Depression is naturally the stage that follows bargaining. The three stages (anger, bargaining and depression) tend to be the most fluid. You may be depressed one day and then angry the next, and then begin a bargaining phase. Depression will look like sadness, where you may cry more or lack motivation. You may also notice an increase in alcohol or drug use during this stage as well. Others may start to notice you are withdrawing or express deep disappointment. Another dangerous stage, but one that can be helped with professional assistance.
The final stage of grief is acceptance which is the polar opposite of denial. Being in tune with reality and how things are right that moment are the hallmarks of acceptance. Once sign that you are in the acceptance stage of the grieving process is a balance of emotions and memories. While you will remember the pain of the day you lost your loved one, you will also start to remember happier times and memories shared with them. You will be able to articulate your emotions in a more calm fashion, and you should not need to rely on substances to regulate your feelings.
Now that we have discussed these stages of grief, let’s talk about ways technology can help you in your grieving process.
Grief is Private...Your Discussions Should Be Too
When dealing with grief, you will most likely want to reach out to family and friends. The support of your loved ones is critical in times of tremendous loss. Conversations with loved ones don’t need to be exposed to advertisers to market to you. That’s why CircleIt provides a 100% private chat platform. When we say private, we mean it. Too many platforms claim their encryption keeps your conversations private, only to scrape your conversations for specific keywords that are then sold in data packages to advertisers for billions of dollars.
Imagine using Messenger or WhatsApp to discuss the loss of a loved one, only to be bombarded with ads for life insurance directly after ending the conversation. This is what happens when you discuss anything on platforms Meta and other social media companies own. This is why CircleIt is the private alternative to social media. We show no ads on our technology, and we never sell your personal information to data brokers.
By keeping your chats private and secure, CircleIt enables you to lean on family and friends on the difficult days after a loss. By providing a place to be a family, CircleIt is leading the death tech industry, but we do more to support those that are grieving.
Share Memories With Loved Ones
CircleIt’s card store is another way we are helping those that are grieving the death of a loved one. Our greeting cards are more than simple messages, but can serve as a digital time capsule to save memories. One member, Patti Lafleur, uses CircleIt to keep the memory of her departed mother alive.
Before Patti’s mom passed away from Alzheimer’s disease in 2022, she recorded a video of her mom singing happy birthday. She now sends this to family members as a way to keep the joy her mom used to bring to everyone alive. Preserving legacies is what CircleIt was built for. It is a simple process of creating a greeting card, attaching the video to the card, and scheduling it to arrive on the future date you choose. Future messaging can also be used by cancer patients to ensure they are present for the important milestones in the lives of their future generations. Just imagine receiving a message from your lost loved one that they created for you while they were still with us.
How special would that be? You can see the impact of these messages in the story told by Art Shaikh, our Founder & CEO or even our CMO, Joe Karasin.
Death Tech Makes Dealing With Loss Easier
While technology has not found a way to bring our loved ones back, it can be used to help process grief in new ways. Other technologies have been provided to deal with other facets of loss. For those seeking professional counseling, can be a useful resource. By providing access to therapists, the platform leverages video conferencing technology to provide telehealth services.
Another company making headway in the death tech space is DigitalWill.com. This service allows you to create a digital will, which disburses your digital assets to your chosen executors upon your passing.
The DigitalWill.com platform also gives you the ability to leave personalized final messages to loved ones, and document your funeral wishes. When you pass away, your loved ones are left scrambling to find the critical documents and login information for important accounts. Having this information given to those you choose will give your loved ones peace of mind throughout the grieving process.
Technologies like DigitalWill.com and Titan Casket are making the costs of death lower as well. DigitalWill.com helps cut the cost of an attorney out of the estate planning process, a major factor in why 70% of Americans do not have a will. In addition, Titan Casket is the first direct to consumer service for purchasing a casket, which is one of the steepest costs in the funeral industry.
