Grief Therapy
Has Life Lost All Meaning?
Are you struggling to cope after the death of a loved one or losing something important to you? Have you experienced complicated emotions—such as anger, sadness, guilt, or relief—that cause confusion and distress? Do you wonder if life will ever return to normal?
The effects of grief can be devastating, making it difficult to function day-to-day. Perhaps you can’t focus or find meaning in things you used to care about. There may be days when you don’t want to get out of bed, take a shower, or see anyone. Physical symptoms—like changes in appetite, sleep disturbances, headaches, or stomach aches—serve as reminders that you are not okay.
You Might End Up Settling And Missing You May Have Lost Your Sense Of Self
The loss of a loved one can lead to a loss of identity, causing you to question who you are without them or dread what the future holds. Rather than relying on friends and family for support, you might have pulled away, sensing that they expect you to have moved on by now. But spending time alone only compounds your sadness and isolation. If you rely on substances or reckless behavior to cope, the short-term relief you experience is only masking a deeper, more profound pain you haven’t yet addressed.
If unresolved grief has brought life to a standstill, counseling can help. Meeting with a bereavement counselor can offer you the support, empathy, and understanding you need to process your emotions and learn helpful ways of coping with your loss.
Although Grief Is Universal, It Is A Unique Experience For Each Of Us
Loss is a normal part of life. At some point, we will all lose someone or something we hold dear, causing untold grief and emotional pain. In addition to losing a loved one or family pet, grief can be triggered by divorce, job loss, or an illness or injury that leads to a permanent loss of function or lifestyle change.
When we experience loss, we face unique circumstances that impact how well we cope. Sudden losses—such as accidents or suicide—can be harder to accept, making it more likely that we get stuck in denial. Additionally, our underlying mental health can be a factor in how significantly grief affects us. “When grief is overwhelming and powerful, it can seem to have no end. Grief this extensive is called complicated grief, which affects between 10 percent to 20 percent of grievers.” [1]
The Myth Surrounding The Stages Of Grief
Most of us have heard about the stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—without realizing how inaccurately this depiction portrays the actual grieving process. Breaking grief down this way implies that we’re supposed to experience our pain in a linear, predictable manner. But the truth is we each experience grief in our own way. Although there is no right or wrong way to grieve, if we don’t have a safe place to express what we are feeling and sit with our pain, it can prolong and worsen the grieving process.
That is why online grief counseling for adults and children can offer helpful support for navigating the grieving experience. Having a safe space to talk about your loss and receive support when you are struggling most, such as anniversaries and holidays, allows you to honor your loved one while keeping your life on track.
Grief Counseling Can Help Bring You Back To Yourself
There may be reasons why you haven’t permitted yourself to grieve properly. You may have been raised to be tough and not reveal your emotions openly. Perhaps sitting with your feelings is too overwhelming, and so you busy yourself with work or other distractions to keep difficult emotions at bay. Or maybe you sense that you have reached an imaginary “expiration date” for your grief and feel guilty whenever you cry or want to talk about your loved one around others.
As therapists, we understand how grief can affect you, even long after experiencing loss. By acknowledging grief as a universal human experience, therapy is a judgment-free zone that not only normalizes everything you are feeling but also offers consistent empathy and support. Grief counseling is where the mask comes off, and you can freely express all the complicated emotions that either overwhelm you or that you may try to avoid. Having a scheduled time each week to talk about hard things can help you move forward.
What To Expect In Sessions
Therapy will be guided by how grief is showing up for you. We will determine how your day-to-day functioning has changed and create a treatment plan for getting you back to your baseline. Exploring feelings of guilt, shame, relief, or anger without blame or self-judgment allows you permission to let them go.
Grief is a journey that is harder to shoulder alone. If you are not receiving adequate support from families and friends, we can help you resource grieving support groups in addition to therapy or recommend social activities in your area. Your grief counselor can also help you process trauma related to the death of your loved one, address any loss of identity you may be experiencing, and help you acknowledge and accept the profound grief that comes with letting future dreams go.
At True Talk, we offer helpful modalities to process grief, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness techniques, journaling, breathwork, and art therapy. With CBT, we will identify and challenge inner narratives related to your loss that are neither true nor helpful in supporting a positive outlook. Using ACT, we identify what you value most, helping to realign and reshape your goals based on what life looks like now.
Mindfulness practices, such as guided visualizations and breathwork, can help you manage anxious feelings related to grief as they arise. Expressing yourself through journaling or art therapy can help channel and process your grief in ways that soothe the soul and spark joy.
When you lose someone or something important to you, a piece of you also dies. Although you will no longer be the same person you once were, your rebirth can be full of new beginnings that bring new joys and possibilities into your life.
But You May Have Some Concerns About Grief Counseling …
Will bereavement counseling be guided at my own pace? It feels like everyone else has moved on except me.
Right after experiencing the loss of a loved one, our friends and family are usually eager to offer support. But around the time they stop checking in as frequently is often when the initial shock is wearing off, and our emotions become overwhelming. Because grief has no time limit, therapy can be a valuable resource. Having a safe and nonjudgmental space to speak freely about your grief with a trained therapist allows you to process your loss at your own pace.
Is it normal to experience suicidal ideation after experiencing the loss of a loved one?
The effects of grief can be profound, including physical and emotional symptoms that are both debilitating and painful. However, if you are experiencing suicidal ideation as a result of grief or loss, you should seek counseling right away. When you are grieving, receiving support that acknowledges your experience can help alleviate the isolation you have felt since losing your loved one.
If bereavement counseling won’t bring my loved one back, what’s the point?
Understandably, you are in pain that is hard to quantify. You may feel like life has lost meaning and there is no point in going on without your loved one. But the longer you wait to process your emotions, the worse you will feel. Avoidance can lead to more severe symptoms later on, like panic attacks.
Even though facing the permanence of losing someone is hard, grief counseling can help you take this first important step in the grieving process. In therapy, you can work through grief gradually so you can adjust to what life looks like now with acceptance.
You Don’t Have To Suffer Alone
Having a safe space to experience your grief, share memories, and cope with complicated emotions can make grief easier to bear. To get started with online grief counseling, you can email us, use the contact form, or call 929-404-3002 for a free, 15-minute phone consultation.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384448/#:
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