Grief

Carol* felt lost.

After her partner died, she felt like a piece of her went with him. It was hard to leave the house for some days. She struggled to make a plan and had trouble concentrating at work.

Carol had friends but noticed they became quiet when she talked about her sadness. Sometimes, they changed the subject or told her, “He’s in a better place. Aren’t you glad he’s not suffering?”

The truth was, Carol was suffering. She’d never lived alone, didn’t know how to pay the bills online, and couldn’t imagine how this would ever feel normal. She just wanted her old life back.

There is strength in asking for help.

Carol reached out for help after realizing she wasn’t herself anymore. She didn’t know if she could ever feel happiness again and was also afraid that she was losing her mind.

Grief can change us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It can appear unexpectedly when a song reminds us of that loved one you lost. Grief is often inconvenient, bringing us to tears without notice and leaving us with nowhere to hide. It can even cause us to question our beliefs and faith and feel angry.

The process of grief looks different for each person. Our culture has a “get over it and move on” attitude that doesn’t stop or slow down the grief. In short, most people, including our friends, don’t have the patience to accompany someone through those dark and painful days, especially when they last for months.

The loneliness of grief can feel like a secondary loss.

Grief therapy can help you heal from the pain.

No matter how long it’s been, the journey to healing through grief therapy begins with telling your story. Talking about your loss can be painful to relieve those memories, but it’s often a necessary step in recognizing that you’ve already survived a painful experience.

Grief therapy is a time to sit with pain, memories, sadness, and anger – those things that can be painful for both you and the people who have tried to encourage you but didn’t know what to say or, worse, didn’t understand.

As a trained therapist, I have the patience to sit with you as long as it takes. I won’t fill our time with platitudes meant to make you feel better.

Prolonged grief can turn into depression and worse.

Sadness is expected after the death of a loved one, a precious family pet, and other life circumstances that change the course of what we hope for our future.

Imagining a day without tears and gray skies can be challenging when we get stuck in our sadness and grief. Some people become consumed with a more profound sadness that turns into depression, causing changes in appetite and sleep, as well as a loss of hope.

Substance use, isolation and withdrawal, and even social anxiety can occur if grief is not handled appropriately. Physical health problems can develop if we stop caring for ourselves while experiencing grief.

Broken heart syndrome is an actual condition, and unfortunately, older adults are at greater risk of suicide following the death of a loved one.

Remember Carol?

She found comfort in hearing that her feelings were normal; she wasn’t losing her mind. She learned to lean into her grief rather than resist it, but she also found that tears could be healing and therapeutic.

Over time, she even found that she could laugh again. Carol built a new life that evolved from a place of courage and strength. Today, she’s a more confident version of herself, who isn’t afraid of taking chances, but it didn’t happen overnight.

Call me today, and let’s get started.

You can survive this. The pain you are feeling doesn’t have to last forever. You can, and you will learn to live again.