Grief & Bereavement Counseling
One of the most familiar forms of grief is losing a loved one. I know this all too well from my own life. I lost my brother and my parents in my teenage and young adult years.
It is my belief that no matter how much time passes we will always grieve our loved ones, but we must know the difference between healthy vs. maladaptive grief. Maladaptive grief is when we develop unhealthy ways of dealing with our grief such as avoiding difficult feelings, unregulated reactions to stress victimization, substance abuse, emotional eating, overeating and so on. Grief is not limited to death, but also loss. Losing a pet, house, a romantic or platonic relationship break up, loss of dreams, loss of health or loss of anything with significant value to us can cause us to mourn in unhealthy ways, especially if the loss was unexpected. If anything I have written here resonates with you, you are probably dealing with unresolved grief.
Common symptoms of grief can be physical, emotional or social.
A few common symptoms in these categories are:
Physical
- Crying and sighing
- Headaches
- Loss of appetite
- Difficulty sleeping
- Weakness
- Fatigue
Emotional
- Feelings of sadness and yearning
- Feelings of worry or anger
- Feelings of frustration or guilt
Social
- Feeling detached from others
- Self-isolation from social contact
- Behaving in ways that are not normal for you
Every grieving experience is different. A person may be able to continue their day-to-day routine after one loss, yet not be able to get out of bed after the loss of someone else. Whatever your personal symptoms are, grief and bereavement counseling have been proven to help.
If you are experiencing grief-related thoughts, behaviors, or feelings that are distressing, please contact me today for a free consultation
