Grief and Loss
Imagine waking up one morning. You say goodbye to your spouse, just as you did every other morning, not realizing this would be the last goodbye either of you would hear from one another. You later receive a knock on your door that would change the course of your life forever. In an instant, you feel numb; as if you are trapped in a nightmare there is no escape from. Thousands of moments you shared together are replaying in your mind, and you question if this is really happening. Your world has come to a screeching halt while the world around you continues to spin.
The intensity of emotion overwhelms you. You feel physically weak, you cannot eat, and more than anything you just want to sleep, hoping when you wake up you will realize it was all just a bad dream. It takes every ounce of energy you have to keep the sadness from taking over. You feel as though you are facing a mountain so big it is impossible to climb. You feel lost, helpless, and alone. How do you make sense of this? How will life ever feel normal again? How do you move forward from such an incredible loss?
Grief has a way of making it almost impossible to remember what happiness feels like. While many people associate grief with the loss of someone significant in their lives, grief is the emotional experience following loss of all kinds – a relationship or marriage, pet, job, income, home, a change in our way of living, or a loss of our identity.
No one is exempt from experiencing loss, however, the way in which each person grieves can look very different. You feel exhausted, sad, empty, guilty, frustrated, avoidant, confused, scared, and unsure how to feel “normal”. You may not even feel any of these things, and out of nowhere, you experience a flood of any or all of these emotions. This is the rollercoaster that is all too familiar to anyone who has grieved.
This story is one many of us can relate to. This journey is one many of us have walked through. The sudden loss of someone close to us leaves us feeling as though life will never be okay again, and as impossible as it seems, you will find a new normal. I have worked with children and families over the past 8 years who felt just like you do. It can be difficult to know how to cope with the pain of your loss or how to begin the healing process. There is hope. I have walked alongside people who were able to find meaning in their loss and come to an appreciation for how it allowed them to grow. Let me help you find meaning in your loss. You deserve to find your way back to happiness.