Grief & Loss

Grief, a natural human response to loss, is both a universal and a personal experience. It can show itself in many ways but often moves in and out of stages, to eventual adjustment to the loss. At its core, grief is central to life, as all change results in loss. Grief can be a strong, sometimes overwhelming emotion for people, whether their sadness stems from the loss of a loved one, their health, a job, a marriage or relationship, a miscarriage, financial stability, a pet, a home or a dream or sense of youth. Regardless of the origin, we often are struck by profound sadness when losing something or someone we care about. At times, we may also feel alone, anxious, or depressed in response to loss, or may notice urges and behaviors to avoid these feelings. Some may find themselves feeling numb
and removed from daily life, or unable to carry on with regular responsibilities while shouldering their sense of loss. As change and loss tend to create significant emotional discomfort, it is important to find ways to effectively cope with grief and loss in order to obtain emotional freedom.

Therefore, therapy will aim to reduce avoidance of emotional discomfort associated with grief and to increase acceptance and tolerance of it. This process requires a unique set of skills that are learnable through therapy, including distress tolerance skills, acceptance skills, self-soothing skills, and skills to tolerate uncertainty. Therapy can support individuals to build these skills and to cope with both general and traumatic losses. It will be important to remember that grieving is a highly individual experience; there’s no right or wrong way to grieve and how we grieve depends on many factors including our personality and coping style, our life experience, faith and how significant the loss was. Inevitably, the grieving process will take time as healing happens gradually and can’t be forced or hurried. Some people start to feel better in weeks or months. For others, the grieving process is measured in years. Whatever your grief experience, it is important to be patient with yourself and allow the process to naturally unfold.

If you are interested in making an appointment to cope with loss, please request an appointment .