THERAPY FOR GRIEF
What is Grief?
Grief is a natural response to loss, but it can still feel like an overwhelmingly intense and lonely experience. While we tend to associate grief with the death of a loved one, grief can also come after the end of a relationship, the end of a life stage (e.g. entering into an “empty nester” era), or the loss of a pet. No one can remove the pain that comes with moving through these periods of loss, but grief counseling is a supportive process aimed at sorting through your difficult emotions with compassion. The cycle of grief can be overwhelming and make you feel trapped, but through therapy you can identify ways to honor the loss while also having the freedom to move forward.
What are the symptoms of grief?
Grief encompasses a wide range of emotions such as fear, anger, and deep sadness. It can consume you physically, emotionally, socially, and cognitively. Below are some of the common symptoms associated with grief:
Physical: Tearfulness or crying spells, headaches, loss of appetite, nausea, insomnia, or muscle pain and weakness.
Emotional: Deep sadness or yearning for the loved one, anger, frustration, guilt, overwhelm, and numbness.
Social: Feeling detached from others, isolating, avoiding the phone or computer
Cognitive: Feeling foggy, difficulty remembering things in the short term, inability to concentrate, and often finding yourself in a daze.
No “right way” to grieve
Every grieving experience is unique and there is not one "right way" to grieve. You might be able to resume daily routines shortly after a loved one passes away, but after the loss of someone else close to you, you may find it difficult to get out of bed and leave the house for weeks. Adapting to a loss is highly personal, depending on your beliefs, your relationship to the person who passed away, and your own medical and mental health history. This is also true for other types of losses, such as a break-up or the death of a pet.
Loss and grieving can naturally foster connection among loved ones, but there can also be unresolved conflict that comes back to the surface. In the case of a death in the family, there can at times be a shift in focus from honoring and remembering the loved one to in-fighting - which may be re-traumatizing. These dynamics can be explored in grief counseling. Boundaries may need to be set or reinforced to provide time and space for healing.
What does grief counseling look like?
During grief counseling with a Knownfully therapist, you will learn new ways to honor what was lost while also slowly taking steps to move forward with your life. Our holistic, mind-body-spirit approach to therapy helps clients find gratitude for what was and hope for what will be. Grief is an inevitable and natural part of the human experience - it is often described as “the price we pay for love.” And what is life without love?
You are never alone - contact us today to talk about grief counseling
If you are experiencing unresolved grief or new onset grief issues, contact us today for a consultation. We would be honored to support you.