Grief doesn't follow a linear path from devastation to closure; instead, healthy mourning involves moving fluidly between immersion in loss and engagement with the ongoing life around you. This oscillation—grieving deeply one moment, then turning toward work, relationships, or joy the next—is not a failure of commitment but a sustainable way to integrate loss over time.
The Dual Process Model of coping with bereavement describes how healthy grievers oscillate between loss-orientation — confronting grief, pain, and longing — and restoration-orientation — managing life changes, building new identity, and taking breaks from grief. Neither pole alone produces lasting healing.
Understanding this model helps you stop judging yourself for having good days or for feeling devastated again after a period of calm. AI companions can track where you are in this oscillation and offer the right kind of support depending on which orientation you need in a given moment.
Peri can explain this concept, give practical examples, help you decide whether it applies to your situation, or recommend a journey if appropriate.
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