Is Grief Consuming Your Life?

  • Have you lost someone and believe you’ll never be okay again?
  • Are you consumed by feelings of sadness, despair, regret, guilt or anger?
  • Has life become meaningless without your spouse or loved one?
  • Have you noticed unsettling behavioral changes in your children following a divorce or death in the family?

If grief has stopped you from living a normal life, you may be feeling helpless, hopeless and angry. Throughout life we experience loss in a variety of ways. Inevitably we will lose people we love through death. Sometimes we lose people through breakups. Divorce not only brings about the loss of your spouse, but you might lose time with your children as well. A significant change in your health can also cause you to feel powerless, frustrated that you can’t live your life the way you used to and angry that you’ve lost aspects of yourself that once defined you.

At work you may be unable to concentrate because all you can think about is your recent loss. You might be withdrawing from friends and family members, perhaps because talking about your loss is just too painful. At night you might lie awake in bed trying to figure out how to reverse unfortunate events in your life. What’s more, you might be bombarded by daily reminders of the things you have lost. A song might come on the radio that triggers memories from the past, causing you to burst into tears. You’re likely yearning to move on with your life, but maybe feeling powerless to do so.

 

Grief Is a Natural Part of Life

Our culture tells us we need to recover from adversity quickly. However, there is no timetable for grief and everyone experiences it differently. If you’re currently grieving, what you’re experiencing is completely natural. It’s to be expected that you will experience sadness and/or depression following a major loss.

However, sometimes grief can become so debilitating that it stops you from functioning. If your grief has become chronic or if it has negatively impacted your work, family life or health, it’s time to reach out to a therapist.

 

Children Can Also Grieve Following a Divorce or Death

Adults are not the only ones adversely affected by loss. Children and teens can also experience grief, especially after a divorce, death of a family member or in the wake of an absent parent. Please visit our Children and Grief page under Child Counseling to learn more.

 

Grief Counseling Can Help You Restore Fulfillment

Grief counseling can be very effective in helping you move through your loss. Simply sharing your experience with a compassionate listener can go a long way toward healing. Perhaps you feel uncomfortable sharing difficult emotions with friends and family members or find loved ones have grown tired of hearing about your loss, further fueling feelings of isolation. However, at Alkira you’ll find a safe space where you’ll be free to grieve as long as you need and in the ways that will be most constructive.

In grief counseling sessions, you can learn replace destructive coping strategies—such as numbing with drugs, alcohol or food—with healthy, healing activities. We’ll encourage you to increase feelings of wellbeing by taking care of yourself, participating in things like exercise, healthy eating, prayer, journaling and social interaction. You can move beyond sadness, regret and anger by honoring positive memories rather than dwelling on past insults, injuries or abuse. At Alkira we’ll provide you with structured ways to manage the negative emotions associated with your loss. Your counselor can serve as your guide as you move through the different stages of grief, helping you better understand yourself, the nature of your sadness and any past traumatic events that might be complicating the healing process. With the help of grief counseling, you’ll be able to identify your strengths and recognize ways you’ve already been effectively grieving. You’ll have a professional, compassionate therapist who can validate what you’re feeling and help you understand what you’re going through. Our therapists will care about you and always have your best interest at heart.

Grief doesn’t have to last a lifetime. With a sympathetic counselor at your side, it’s possible to move through sadness, anger and guilt, reconnect with friends and family and be yourself again.

At this point, you might be ready to give counseling a try, but may have some questions and concerns…

I don’t think grief counseling can help me.

If you’re reading this you’re probably hurting right now. Perhaps you’ve been trying to cope on your own but found your current strategies aren’t working.

Don’t needlessly suffer alone. Therapy can provide you with a compassionate listener, as well as healthy, effective coping strategies you perhaps haven’t used before. By talking with an Alkira therapist, you will be creating a relationship that will help you heal.

I don’t have the time or money to go to grief counseling.

To accommodate for a variety of schedules our therapists have appointments available up until 8:00 pm Monday through Friday and on some Saturdays. We work hard to make therapy affordable for everyone and offer a sliding scale if your insurance does not cover our services.

There’s nothing someone can say to take my pain away.

You’re right. Words alone will not take away your sadness nor change the past. However, the goal of therapy will not be for you to find healing from the words of the therapist, but rather through the therapeutic relationship created between you and your therapist. Through this relationship you can gain new insights that will help you move toward recovery.

 

Don’t Let Grief Cause Life to Pass You By 

With the help of grief counseling, it’s possible for you to find joy and fulfillment in life once again. To schedule an appointment or discuss any questions you have, you can call 315 492-1390 or email us at alkiratherapy@gmail.com. We will return your call or email within 24 business hours.