GRIEF and LOSS
Have you suffered a loss in your life and are struggling with your feelings?
Are you going through the stages of grief and feel alone with your emotions?
Loss is experiencing the absence of someone or something that was once present in your life. Loss can be anticipated or unexpected. It can be small or very significant. There are many different ways a person can experience loss. The most common is of course the loss of a loved one who has passed away. Loss is also experienced and felt when someone you are close with and spend a lot of time with moves away. Loss can also be felt when other things once in your life leave, are taken away, or change in certain ways. You may feel loss when you leave a job or are let go, a co-worker retires or leaves your workplace, your income ceases or declines, you lose a pet, end a relationship, get separated or divorced, your health declines or changes in some significant way, you give up on a dream/intent you planned on, your child moves out of your home, or you move out of your home, just to name a few.
In any of these cases of loss, we may be left feeling sad, lonely, brokenhearted, lost, or alone. Feelings of grief may then seep in causing us to have difficulty moving on.
Grief is the natural response to loss. It involves five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. It can bring on emotions, feelings and symptoms including: anger, anxiety, bouts of crying, symptoms of depression or sadness, fatigue or lack of energy, guilt, loneliness, pain, trouble sleeping, eating or concentrating, just to name a few.
Some of us go through all of the stages, while others stay stuck in one stage for long periods of time if not indefinitely. When you suffer a significant loss in your life, especially the loss of a loved one who has passed on, you may find yourself facing that loss over and over. When this happens depending on which stage of grief you’re in, you may suffer from anger, depression or any other emotion that is triggered by the loss. Your feelings of grief could subside at some point, then come rushing back again days, week, months, or even years later. For example, for many people grief comes back very strongly on the anniversary of the death of a loved one or on special dates related to any type of loss. It’s important to know these reactions are not setbacks in your grieving process, they are healthy remembrances of that special person and the significance they held in your life. It may be difficult to keep finding reminders in familiar places or at special times, but this is an inevitable part of life, such as when you attend events you may have shared with a deceased person or know they would have enjoyed, hear a sad song, experience other losses in your life, visit the grave of a deceased loved one, or see mutual friends or loved ones who share your loss. All of these situations can trigger your pain and loss to return, but this is all part of the grieving process.
Although there are stages to grief, everyone experiences grief differently and may go through each stage at different times, at different paces, or in a different order from someone else. People may judge you or criticize you when they feel you’re not “moving on fast enough” or “Taking too long to make decisions about personal items of theirs”. They may even try to push you into doing things at a different pace than you are comfortable with at the moment. It’s important to remember that grief is a personal experience and unique to each individual.
Grief is a very difficult thing to go through and while it can still be healthy to take longer for some than others,
there should come a time when you are able to continue on with your life,
after all isn’t that what our loved ones would want for us after they have passed on?
While grieving is a healthy and natural process that we go through following a significant loss, we also need to be healthy for ourselves and the loved ones we still have in life. We all handle things the best way we know how and the best thing for anyone going through loss and grief is support and understanding.
If you're struggling with grief and/or loss, whether it be a loved one passing or the loss of someone or something significant and important to you and your life and are in need of support, understanding, and guidance, psychotherapy can help...
Psychotherapy can provide the support, understanding and guidance you need without judgment or bias. In the therapeutic process you will have a safe place to talk through and process your feelings, have support throughout the grieving process and learn ways to get on a path towards healing. As I have shared on previous pages, I tailor your treatment to you as a unique individual to help you get complete care, support, and healing throughout your journey in therapy.
If you're grieving or struggling with a loss & you think you're ready to start therapy
& your journey towards unique & personal healing,
call me today for your free phone consultation
(631) 339-1326.
We can chat about whatever is needed
to help decide if
You and A Different View Psychotherapy LCSW PLLC
are the right fit!
