LOSS OF A LOVED ONE

 
 

It’s normal to feel grief when you’ve experienced the loss of someone you love.

If you’ve been experiencing symptoms of grief for a prolonged time or they are severe enough to affect your daily life – eating, sleeping, working, etc. for an extended time. It’s easy to slip from sadness over the loss into depression or anxiety, and can even be a trigger for substance problems. If the grief you are experience is affecting your life and ability to move forward, then it’s time to seek help.

We can “lose” a loved one in various ways: we can have a falling out with them and do irreparable damage to the relationship, couples can divorce or separate, and family members can become estranged.

The most traumatic of all losses can be the death of a loved one. This doesn’t make the other types of loss any less difficult to handle, but a death is permanent. There’s no possibility of reconciliation or mending relationships. Experiencing the death of a loved one can be devastating and something that can take a toll on you mentally, physically, and spiritually. Intellectually, you may know that death is a part of life but when it actually affects you, you may feel shocked, angry, depressed, or that the death of your loved one is simply not fair. All these emotions are very common. It’s not easy to cope after losing a loved one but grieving is the natural process you have to go through and it looks different for everyone.

Signs and symptoms of extreme grief

Emotional Symptoms

  • Inconsolable sadness

  • Inability to function

  • Obsession with the deceased

  • Looking for or thinking you see your loved one in various places

  • Disbelief or inability to accept that they actually died

  • Obsession with death in general

  • Feelings of anger or guilt

  • Avoiding things that remind you of your loved one

  • Numbness

  • Irritability

  • Withdrawing from others

  • Guilt

  • Anxiety

  • Participating in self-destructive behaviours (alcohol or substance use, for example)

Physical Symptoms

  • Lack of appetite

  • Digestive problems

  • Sleeplessness or sleeping too much

  • Feeling achy

  • Headaches

  • Lowered immunity

We have the tools to help you heal and move beyond the pain.

At the Grief and Trauma Healing Centre, we have trained specialists in grief and loss, allowing you to feel confident in the expertise that your therapist brings, and more at ease when coming in.

Your therapist will work with you to identify and deal with your feelings. Although you may feel like you’re alone in your grieving process, you are not. We’d be honoured to support you on this journey.