Nothing compares to the pain of losing someone you love. Death of a loved one forces us to take notice. It doesn’t ask for consent; we are pushed, against our will, into grief. Grief is sometimes described as a wave, rushing in and seeping into your emotional life, then receding, quiet, until it later rushes in again. There is no start to finish, only a beginning and a moving through, if there is to be any movement at all. Grief feels very heavy at times, horrifically empty at others. It can also be paralyzing. Common emotions that accompany grief are guilt, regret, hopelessness, and anger.

Loss doesn’t always involve the death of a person.  Other types of loss include loss of a person you knew, loss of someone you haven’t lost yet and loss of who you thought you were (this can involve physical alterations or limitations, or any significant life changes, such as divorce, birth of a baby, etc).

Grief may not always be about death. But it is always about attachment and separation; attachment to something, and separating from it. Processing this pain in therapy can help you better understand your own grief experience, and give you space to talk about your personal relationship to your loved one, what it meant to you and how you will carry that meaning forward in your life.