Losing a Loved One – Handling the Grief
Losing a loved one can be one of the most painful experiences that human beings face, especially if your connection with the person who has died was particularly close, significant or leaves you without a support network within which to seek support. Different challenges exist if the relationship with the person who has died, was problematic or even abusive. Either way, grief will arise at some stage, either for the loss of the person themself or at the lack of relationship you desired.
Grief has no timetable – it can appear almost immediately after a death or months or even years later. Some people are so numbed by loss that they seem to feel nothing. However, in my experience as a psychologist and counsellor, grief will appear at some stage.
Grief does appear to have stages – although we do not seem to work through them in linear ways. Instead we dive in and out of earlier stages before we come through the other end. Those stages broadly are Disbelief, Anger, Depression and Recovery.
Grief Counselling can help you work through the complex feelings and reactions to loss and avoid grief becoming compounded by the process being avoided. Death is a part of life and the more we can learn to integrate this important experience in our lives, the more we can ensure we live in ways that are fulfilling and purposeful.
Similar Posts:
Tags: grief, grief counselling, loss
February 23, 2010 7:12 am 
Subscribe