Counseling for Grief
Grief can be a complex emotion. It can feel all-encompassing, and often people also feel anger, confusion, guilt and shame when grieving a loss. This ‘loss’ is not only referencing the death of a loved one or friend. Life changes like divorce, or the loss of a job can also bring about grief. Every grieving person’s experience is unique. Nor is there a ‘proper way’ to grieve.
Physical Effects of Grief
Lack of desire to eat
Desire to over-eat
Headaches, or stomach/intestinal disorders
Lack of energy
Inability to concentrate
Emotional Effects of Grief
Feelings of emptiness or having been cheated
Haunted by thoughts of “if only things had happened differently”
Fear of what will happen next
Doubts or questions concerning why the loss occurred
Desire to run away, or to become very busy, in order to avoid the pain of loss
May feel like you’re going crazy when overwhelmed with intensity of feelings
Grief Timeline
There's no set timeline for when someone who has experienced a loss will automatically recover. For some people, grief is a short-term struggle. For others it's a long-term process, sometimes lasting months or years. But persistent severe grief that does not get better or gets worse over time should be and can effectively be addressed with counseling.
Misconceptions About Grief
Women grieve more than men- While women overall may be more emotionally expressive, verbally expressing feelings of grief is not a required part of the grieving process. Much of the process of grief goes on inside our heads.
Grief only affects the grieving person- When someone is grieving a loss, a ripple-effect can extend out into that person’s relationships as well. Some grieving people seek to isolate themselves from friends and family, which in turn affects those relationships. In turn, friends and family members sometimes feel uncomfortable around the grieving person because they are not sure what to say, and avoid contact.
Grief will not reappear after enough time goes by- Unfortunately this is a myth. Feelings of grief can re-emerge at any time, often triggered when a memory related to the loss is remembered. This is a normal occurrence for someone who has experienced a loss.
Remember you are not alone. There are lots of resources and support groups available to help you understand the grieving process and help you get through it. Avenues of Counseling and Mediation is also here for you with several different grief counselors, in both our Medina and Akron locations. Please reach out if you need support.