The Wall Street Journal (30 July 2013) says that it takes most people at least two years to recover from a breakup or a job loss.
And longer, if the loss is abrupt, sudden--and you are in shock, disbelief, and unprepared.
When something bad happens, this is an important point in our lives to stop, take some time, and reexamine our lives--Where are we going? How did we mess up? What's really important? How should we rebuild?
While you can't rush the healing process, I do think that the best medicine (after some recuperative time) is to "get right back on the horse."
When we suffer a loss, we feel traumatized, depressed, anxious, and self-absorbed.
But the best way to overcome those feelings is to take positive action.
Your feelings are important, but I don't think that the bad feelings go away until you replace them with positive feelings.
When my wife used to get some negative people in her life, she used to say, "I need positive energy around me," and I sort of used to laugh, but it's funny, in a way, she was really right.
Positive energy replaces negative energy. Good feelings replace bad feelings. A good situation replaces a bad one. Rebuilding replaces regret and loss.
This doesn't mean that when you suffer a loss that the void can ever be filled, but that the only real pain reliever is giving life meaning again--and that means doing something positive with it.
No, I don't believe in just jumping in to something before you are ready, doing something foolhardy or not well thought out, but you will feel and become better again by coming up with a reasonable plan and working toward it.
Taking positive steps forward is a better scenario than sitting idly in the dumps--for two years or longer, forget it. ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Michael Kappel)
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