Have you experienced the death of someone important to you?
Are you finding it difficult to adjust to the loss of your loved one in your life?
Whatever it may be, grief can shake your beliefs, personality, and even your sense of reality.
Bereavement is the time you may spend adjusting to your loss, and it is important to remember that there is no time limit or right or wrong way to cope. Grieving and bereavement is a very individual experience, and each individual will cope with it differently.
During this process, it is important to find a place where you can mourn your loss, which could involve strong emotions that may grow, fade, or shift as you move across the various stages of grief. Often in grief and loss counselling, you will find that it follows no particular stage and they follow no order, and you may find that you will move up and down and even revisit the various stages as follows;
Denial – This is where you might still be in shock and confused over what has happened and might still be processing what has happened. There might also be a bit of fear attached to this part also.
Anger – You might be feeling angry and irritated at the world and at yourself for feeling the way you do and for why this could happen to you. This is an important emotion to feel in the grief process and one that should not be avoided. It is ok to feel what you are feeling.
Bargaining – When something bad has happened to us, we may struggle to find meaning. This is where we are trying to make sense of what has happened and therefore, we might reach out to other people and talk about our experiences to understand it better. Counselling can help you process what has happened. Once you accept your loss and understand your emotions, you may find yourself adjusting to life.
Depression – Once we realise that we have had a loss in our life, we feel sadness and sometimes helpless. It is only natural to even feel hostile in certain situation that we can not control. Again, this is an important part of the grief process.
Acceptance – The loss has taken place and this is where you may try to explore new options and look at ways to move on. You will always remember your loved ones and keep them close to your heart, but you will learn to channel your emotions and cope through everyday life.
Be U Counselling Service, based in Poole, Bournemouth, and Dorset, is a grief and loss counselling specialist in UK. It cannot bring your loved one back, but it can help you learn to accept that they have gone and help you hold on to the memories of your loved one. That’s not to say that you won’t have hard times, but coming to counselling can help give you coping strategies and ways to manage your grief better to function properly in everyday life.