Loss & Grief
the impact of loss & Grief
Whenever we lose someone or something that was important to us, we experience feelings of grief. Situations that bring on intense feelings of loss include the death of a loved one, divorce or separation, ending a career or important job, the diagnosis of an chronic or terminal illness, the loss of a pregnancy (miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth, unsuccessful IVF transfer, etc), changes in one’s physical health due to an injury or diagnosis, moving away from home, and anything else that feels like a major loss. The feelings that tend to surround these experiences may include shock, sadness, anger, denial, numbness, guilt, shame, and dissociation. It can feel overwhelming and debilitating to experience so much difficulty at once, and many people find it hard to complete even simple, everyday tasks. This is normal. This is to be expected. This means you’re grieving.
During these moments, it can feel as if life will never be the same and joy will never exist again. Again, this is normal, even if it feels like you’re the only person experiencing such pain. You are not alone. For better or for worse, loss and grief are universal, and every one of us on the planet has felt its effects at some point in our lives. And although time is the only true healer, at SGS Practices, we can help time pass with a little less suffering by offering the support of a trained psychologist who can help you feel less alone. We support those experiencing loss and grief by offering an unconditionally supportive environment, along with mindfulness tools and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you process what feels like an impossible task.
What is Complicated grief?
For some individuals, grief tends to feel more intense and last a longer period of time. This tends to happen more often if the loss was sudden and traumatic.
Complicated grief, also known as prolonged grief or complex grief, mimics depression in many ways and leaves individuals feeling stuck with little relief from the symptoms of grief after many months or even years. People may find themselves feeling unable to engage in relationships, feeling emotionally paralyzed and continuing to mostly focus on their grief and loss. Other common symptoms may include: overwhelming sadness, intense and out of proportion feelings and thoughts (e.g., loneliness, emptiness, hopelessness), and nonstop focus on memories of the past.
If you or someone you know feels stuck in this pattern of symptoms, please know you are not alone and this can be a normal reaction to loss for some people.
how do MINDFULNESS and INTEGRATIVE therapy help with loss and grief?
Although nothing can magically offer relief for feelings related to grief, using integrative therapy and mindfulness can make the process feel less intense and more manageable. A goal of mindfulness is to learn how to engage with life in each moment, whether we experience sadness, peace, grief, struggles, or joy. By leaning into our current moment - pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral - we are able to learn that we can handle the ups and downs of life with grace and self-compassion.
We run into the most mental health problems and prolonged suffering when we resist our current situation and try to will it away. The struggle remains, and then we simply feel disconnected from ourselves. As such, we focus on teaching people to notice, sit with, and express their feelings and experience in order to move through these difficult moments in life.
If you are struggling with loss, grief or anything else related to a previous trauma, please get in touch by email to schedule an appointment or learn more about how we can help.