Summarize:

Although not everyone experiences each of these stages and not everyone experiences stages in the same order, you may experience some combination of denial, anger, resentment, yearning, suffering, sadness, and eventually, acceptance. In addition to possibly not experiencing these in order you may experience these stages repeatedly over the course of your grief journey. Let yourself feel grief and allow yourself to work through these stages. Do not try to mask your emotions. If your spouse died suddenly and there were no final requests, explore ideas to honor the memory of your late partner. This may give you a peace of mind, and will ensure that you will not have any mental obstacles in your new life. You can make this a recurring practice, or you may wish to honor your spouse once and then do your best to move on. To honor your spouse you might: Light a candle in their honor. Take flowers to their grave and talk to them. Let them know what's on your mind. Do an activity that you loved to do together, while remembering everything that was great about your spouse. Your pain will not just disappear, and it will not heal itself. Be patient with yourself as you work through the process of grief. Grief is a journey that lasts as long as it takes to reconcile all issues pertaining to death, your loved one, yourself, and the good and bad parts of your relationship. Grief and depression can look very similar, but they are quite different. It is important to know the distinction so that if your grief turns to depression, you can seek help from a therapist. When grieving, you may experience the following: Sadness, despair, mourning, fatigue or low energy, tears, loss of appetite, poor sleep, poor concentration, happy and sad memories, and/or mild feelings of guilt. If depressed, you may experience symptoms of grief, but also the following: feelings of worthlessness or emptiness, helplessness, extreme guilt, suicidal thoughts, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, extreme fatigue, and/or severe weight loss. Pay attention to how good memories of your spouse make you feel. Do warm memories of your spouse give you some comfort or joy? Or do you feel emptiness and loss that even good memories cannot relieve? If you experience the latter, it may be a sign that you are depressed. What matters is how you feel you are grieving. The loss of your spouse is between you and your spouse. There is no right or wrong answer for the right amount of time to move on. If someone is telling you that you aren't grieving properly, thank them for their concern and tell them that everyone grieves differently. You may run into someone who thinks that you are either healing "too fast" or who thinks you are healing "too slow" and have become stuck in your grief. If this happens, be sure to keep in mind that while this person's intentions are probably good and that he or she wants to see you healed, it is up for you to decide when you are ready to move on. There is a time when you need to cry and go through the suffering to get to the other side. There will come a time when you are ready to actively participate in grief work to bring healing to have a new life. Although you had no choice in the loss of your spouse, you can choose how you respond to the situation and how you aim to move on with your life. That said, in the loss of your spouse, you have faced a drastic change. It is best not to make any other drastic changes right away while you are still navigating your loss. You loved this person enough to be with them until the end. You will remember them. Take comfort in knowing that memories of them will always be in your mind to recall whenever you want to. Let yourself become busy with life; it may do you good in your journey toward emotional healing. Don't think that if you become busy you will forget or that you are disrespecting your spouse. Life requires your attention and hard work. It is normal to be busy with life and it is not a sign that you are forgetting him or her.
Understand that there are stages you may go through. Fulfill any request that your late partner explicitly made before passing away. Know that it will take time before you can begin to feel a sense of normalcy again. Know the difference between grief and depression. Ignore those who tell you that you are not grieving properly. Realize that you have choices. Do not worry that you will forget your spouse.