06Oct

The Love Cycle—Also Known as Grief (The Personal Side)

**Please proceed with caution. Grief is difficult to experience, speak of and even read about. Some of the things mentioned in this blog may be triggering to you and stir up strong emotions. Please make sure you are prepared to read about grief and take some time following reading this to engage in some form of self-care.**

Depending on your age, if I asked you to make a list of loved ones who have died, it might not be very long. However, if I asked you to list losses of all sorts that have heavily impacted you, the list would be much longer. Here are some losses we don’t often think of when we think about grief or even mourning:

–jobs

–friendships

–romantic relationships

–health and physical abilities

–homes

–physical locations (having to move)

–opportunities (things we applied for, but did not obtain)

–dreams in general (for ourselves, for our loved ones—especially our children)

We all experience loss, grief and even death. The challenge is what we do with it. As I said in the practical blog on this topic, we have to go through the pain of loss to heal. We cannot push down, numb out or avoid our emotions. We must find ways to express our pain—be it through talking, art, music or memorialization. The beautiful thing about mourning is that there is no blueprint. You get to decide how you will grieve, who you will allow to come alongside of you and what your process will look like.

I have had clients write letters to their loved ones who died. I have had executives experiencing devastating job loss design vision boards to process their loss and look to the future. Children I have worked with often created art and photo albums. One of my friends took her three children to Disney World on the 1st birthday of a baby she lost. She chose to celebrate the life of her 3 living children while simultaneously honoring the loss of her 4th child.

There is no specific prescription for how you grieve. The only prescription is that you must. And, as therapists, it is our honor to walk beside you as you do so. Whether it is the loss of a spouse, a child, a job or a dream, we are here for you. Please contact Life Enhancement Counseling Services today at 407-443-8862 to schedule an appointment with one of our seasoned mental health counselors. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Yolanda Brailey