“The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again, but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.”
–Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
A pioneer in grief research, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross published On Death and Dying in 1969. This introduced us to her five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While there is a plethora of research on grief and loss, there is no better time than the present to address how it affects us and the waves it takes us through. In her article, “At A Loss”, Hara Estroff Marano wrote, “grief has always been a difficult emotion in America, disenfranchised in a culture fixated on happiness and positivity.” A society obsessed with the idea of creating a “perfect” life for all to see on social media. Well, we know life is not perfect. In fact, it’s messy!
What we do know about grief is that it is multi-faceted and can affect us in so many ways. Marano says, “While loss is universal, grief is always individualized and idiosyncratic even with the death of a loved one.” Everyone experiences grief in different ways. Grief can appear through the death of a loved one, or learning to cope with an illness. We even experience it through breakups or divorce. It can also result in a loss of identity, and may show through feelings of sadness and anger following a loss. This is known as complicated grief.
Complicated Grief can last over six months following a loss and can look like:
- Oversleeping
- Insomnia
- Digestive issues (stomach aches, overeating, diminished appetite)
- Excessive irritability
- Emotional outbursts
- Inability to focus or loss of concentration
- Numbness or detachment
- Difficulty carrying on a normal routine
In 2020 at the beginning of a global pandemic, we collectively experienced a loss. The loss of our former lives’ pre-pandemic became a universal experience of trying to adapt to a new way of living. One year after the pandemic began, the collective trauma we’ve experienced has touched many lives. And, it’s greatly affected the lives of children and teens. We recognize how this major societal shift in our way of living has affected the next generation (GenZ). That’s why we’re here by their side to help them through it. Our team of therapists at Therapyology knows first-hand about loss. We’ve lived through it. We get it. Clinically trained therapists draw from personal experiences (see owner, Brooke Bendix’s story) that drive our caring and empathic ways of working with our clients.
Our Approach to Grief Counseling in West Bloomfield, MI & CA
We sit with you in times of discomfort, acknowledging how complicated grief can be. Learning how to sit with it allows us to accept where we are and process our feelings in the moment. Accepting that it’s okay to feel discomfort and sadness and understanding grief comes in waves is all part of healing.
Talking about your grief can be one of the hardest things to do. But with the support of a trusting, caring grief counselor you can start to heal and take steps to be “whole again” as Elisabeth Kübler-Ross says.
Begin Grief Counseling
in West Bloomfield, MI & San Francisco, CA
You don’t have to go through dealing with grief on your own. Our West Bloomfield therapy practice has caring therapists who can help you work through the stages of grief, and cope with loss. To start your counseling journey, follow these simple steps:
- Request an appointment
- Meet with one of our caring therapists
- Start grief counseling
Other Services Offered at Therapyology
Grief Counseling in West Bloomfield, MI isn’t the only service we offer in our West Bloomfield therapy practice. Other mental health services Therapyology provides include camp in California, online therapy, transitions counseling, therapy for children, therapy for teens, and therapy for children of divorce. We also offer parent coaching, groups and workshops, and Camp Therapyology.
SCHEDULE A 15 MINUTE PHONE CONSULTATION
Not ready to schedule an appointment? Let’s make sure we’re the right fit for your therapy needs. Just give us your name, email, and phone number so we can schedule a time to chat on your schedule.
