- “Why did this have to happen?”
- “Will I always feel this empty and alone?”
- “What is happening to me?”
- “ I can’t accept that my life won’t ever be the same”
None of us are alone with the devastation that comes with loss. When it is the loss of a loved one, the sadness and pain can feel overwhelming. Whether it be sudden or something we knew was inevitable due to illness, it is always a shock. It can feel like we’ve lost a part of our self – forever.
There is also deep grief when there is a life altering situation that is leaves us with an unwanted, unwelcomed, permanent change. i.e., divorce, having a debilitating illness that results in a loss of your health or independence, being betrayed by someone you trusted, being kicked out or scapegoated from your family, being forced to leave a career that you loved, etc. Grief is not limited to death, but can feel like a death. A death of the way it was, when things were better.
With grief comes a sweeping mix of emotions. It can be an incredibly lonely and isolating experience. Our world stops for a while everything continues on around us. We live in a society that wants us to get back to normal as soon as possible. We’re expected to go back to work immediately, keep moving, to get on with our lives. But it doesn’t work that way. We need time to move through the pain of loss. We need to understand the pain of absence.
Therapy can provide a safe place to open up and talk about your feelings at this time with someone who can understand and be with you through the ups and downs of your experience. Someone who realizes that it’s not about just “getting through this” but looking at the changes you are facing as a result. And eventually helping you find the strength and courage you may feel you have lost, to go on.
There are several stages of grief and we don’t experience them “in order”. They are shock, denial, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Therapy can help you process and understand your feelings when you feel your world is upside down. It can help you know how to face tomorrow, give you guidance to help you function, and give you the support and comfort so you don’t feel that you have to go through this alone.
For Support and Information, Call Denise at 713-524-9525
We often try and move through these experiences, trying to make sense of the loss, but without any guidance or framework for how to understand them. It ca be particularly hard to cope if you grew up in a family that had tragedy, but no one ever discussed it. Grief comes not only with the deaths of family and friends, but also with the inevitable life changes we all endure.