Loss and bereavement doesn’t only include losing a loved one. Loss comes in many forms – losing a job, loss of physical ability, loss of a relationship or marriage, loss of a future dream that can no longer happen or changes in life stages.
Losing a loved one, whether close or not, can be complicated and enormously distressing and confusing. Normally you wouldn’t engage with therapy in the first 6 months (unless not engaging in therapy would be detrimental to your wellbeing) of losing someone as you need to grieve nauturally and let your brain naturally process – it’s not going feel good but you can’t rush it. There may be complicating factors, for instance, the age of the person, the way they died, unspoken words and the type of relationship that you had. If you’re feeling stuck and need a little help, therapy can help you. The 7 stages of loss are shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger and bargaining, depression, the upward turn, reconstruction and working through and finally ecceptance and hope.
Grief is just love with nowhere to go, gathered up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat and the hollow of your chest