Grief as a process of subjective transformation

The experience of grief not only involves facing the void left by what has been lost, but also causes a profound shock to the structure of the self.

The lost object was not simply external, but occupied an internal, affective, and symbolic place in the subject's life. Its disappearance forces an internal reconfiguration: the self must readjust to a modified reality and reconstruct its relationship with itself.

This process involves a transformation of desire, which has been interrupted and left without a clear direction. The psychological task is to find new ways of desiring, without denying the value of what has been lost, but without being paralyzed by its absence.

Possibility of sublimation and reconstruction of bonds

One of the ways in which the psyche can move through the pain of loss without succumbing to it is through sublimation.

This process allows the emotional energy previously directed toward the lost object to be redirected toward new activities, interests, or relationships that give meaning to the experience. Through this shift, the subject can reconnect with the world, not by denying the pain, but by transforming it.

Rebuilding bonds does not mean mechanically replacing what has been lost, but opening oneself to new forms of connection that integrate the journey that has been lived. Sublimation, in this sense, acts as a symbolic mediation between loss and the possibility of continuing to live.

The elaboration of grief as a condition of mental health

When it can be carried out, grief fulfills a vital function in the mental economy. It is not a matter of forgetting or ceasing to feel, but of being able to put into words, elaborate, and reframe what