Give Grief A Chance

Leaving an abusive relationship can bring up such conflicting feelings for so many people, The more dysfunctional the relationship the more complicated the grief. 

If you have parents that have not responded to your emotions as a child, you learn that your emotional needs are irrelevant and should be avoided. Emotional neglect is not the same as emotional abuse, it’s easier to disguise. However, it has the ability to have a long lasting impact on a person.

Grief is the normal and natural response to any major change that happens in our life. When grief is caused by a sudden and unexpected death, then those who are left behind are often filled with an enormous amount of unfinished and incomplete business in that emotional relationship.

Give Grief a Chance Podcast

When I spoke with some young people about climate change, they said that they "really worry about their futures and living on a hotter planet due to the increased greenhouse emissions and global warming." They feel hopeless and scared about their futures, and that stress and worry is taking it's toll on their mental health.

Those important days and events are very powerful reminders that someone special is missing from your life. Valentine's Day like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays, can be one of those days that stir up so much emotional pain for you. 

Grieving the loss of addiction is a very common experience and it's also one that goes unacknowledged. By understanding and accepting this process of grieving can really help with recovery.

When financial loss comes, it can change many things. You may find your hopes, dreams, and expectations, that you once had for your future, have all been shattered. And now you find yourself grieving.   

In the years that lead up to retirement many people spend a lot of time and energy making sure that they are physically and financially secure. When retirement comes, many find it very stressful and sometimes depressing.

Reaching out and talking about your loss allows you to feel and process those feelings in a healthy and loving way. Then you can begin to see that there can be a brighter future, one that’s not filled with emotional pain.

Recently I helped a client who had lost her son, she told me that she was horrified when her friends and family would say things to her like, "You can always have more children" or "At least you have other children." Intellectually yes it's true but, grief is an emotion and many people just don't know what to say to someone who is grieving 

After experiencing a loss, we often wish that it would all go away. Yet, even over time grief does not magically disappear, and reminders can bring back the pain of loss, even another's bereavement can re-trigger your grief.  

Masked grief, relates to those situations where the griever has become so adept to suppressing their feelings of emotional pain, that they will tell you other stories and most of them will even avoid using the word grief.

When grief is new it can feel so overwhelmingly painful, lonely, and scary. You don’t want to suppress your grief or try to avoid it, and unfortunately there are no shortcuts.

As people age it’s not uncommon to experience multiple losses in life. While aging can bring about loss it can also bring strength and wisdom.

If your a griever the holidays may not feel the same for you, and it can all be a sad reminder or a past or recent loss. I offer some ideas to help you survive and come through the holiday experience in one piece.

We all know that breakups can often be messy. And the chances are you’ve been through at least one breakup in your life, and nobody finds them easy to go through.

There really is something called empty nest syndrome. According to Psychology Today, empty nest syndrome are feelings of sadness and grief that occurs among parents after their children have grown up and left the home.

I’ll bet most of you have friends or at least one good friend. That special someone who knows you really well. When a good friend dies, your world can turn upside down.

Did you know that right along with divorce and losing a loved one, moving is actually listed as one of the top stressors. Even if your moving for positive reasons, it is still a major grief event.

Unfortunately abortion is a topic that society seems so scared to talk about, yet alone acknowledge the emotions that come with it. This leaves many to suffer in silence.

I’m sure we have all heard the saying “Time heals all wounds.” While the intentions of the person saying it are usually well meaning. Time itself is not a healer.

Many people who’ve had failed relationships can often become very isolated from their own feelings. So it’s important to understand why a divorce or a bad breakup can be so painful and difficult.

Losing a spouse can be so devastating. Your whole world changes as one day your married, the next your single and this journey can feel scary.

Postpartum grief and the baby blues are a very real thing and fortunately there are positive emotional actions that you can take to move through it.