The Loss History Graph (LHG) is the first major “new tool” shared in the Grief Recovery Method. This exercise asks the participant to make a linear graph of each significant loss in their lives, distinguishing them by lines of various lengths depending on the intensity and significance of those losses.
The purpose of looking at all the losses one has experienced versus just the most recent or most significant loss is that often by plotting them visually, one may be able to see patterns or trends that would not otherwise be as evident.
The process of writing and then sharing verbally also gives the participant the chance to “give voice” to each of these losses. Through that sharing, they can relieve a bit of the pent-up emotional energy surrounding each loss, not just the most recent or significant one(s). This, in turn, tends to help the participant feel some initial relief from that pent-up energy.