Grief and Loss Counselling

Most people will experience loss at some point in their lives. Grief is a reaction to any form of loss. Bereavement is a type of grief involving the death of a loved one.

Bereavement and grief encompass a range of feelings from deep sadness to anger. The process of adapting to a significant loss can vary dramatically from one person to another. It often depends on a person’s background, beliefs, and relationship to what was lost.

What is Grief & How Can Therapy Help?

Death is inevitable. Yet, the loss of a loved one always produces strong emotions of grief and despair. The pain can be extremely overwhelming and it can last a long time. Just as you feel like life has returned to normal, something reminds you of your loved one and the intense, heart-breaking anguish returns.

Grief can be caused by many things besides the death of a loved one. It is also normal to grieve when a pet dies or when going through a divorce. These events can be just as devastating for some people as the death of a family member.

For most people, grief will let go eventually. But, sometimes, mental pain and anguish won’t relent. When grief doesn’t go away, it is known as persistent complex bereavement disorder (complicated grief). In persistent complex bereavement disorder, the emotional symptoms are so severe and deeply-rooted that you have trouble moving on from the loss and living your own life.

So, how do you know if you are suffering from a normal reaction to grief or something more? The first step is to learn about grief. What is normal and what isn’t? Here are some of the normal emotions following a loss.