Loss comes in many forms.

Loss is something we all face at one point or another.  It's an inevitable, common human experience, yet can come with such overwhelming emotions that it can feel isolating.  It’s not just bereavement from the death of a parent, pet, friend, or family member—it can also be losing a job or a relationship, and the future we had envisioned along with it.  Any version of loss can create a transition period in our lives that takes time to sort through.   

There are many factors that influence whether or not we get caught up in the waves of grief.  In my own journey with grief, as well as in supporting clients through theirs, I’ve noticed that what makes it particularly challenging is how and whether we process our emotions and if we have support systems in place to help us do so in a healthy way.  Not all of us get the goodbye we wished we had (especially during the pandemic) and not all of us have been taught or learned how to show and express sadness, let alone the immense despair that threatens to pull us under the surface.  A helpful metaphor I often use with clients comes from this TED talk.  If we can expect that over time, we will learn to 'move forward with' rather than 'move on from', it becomes easier to be kind to ourselves when we are hit with one of the emotional moments. 

A grief counsellor can be an additional support to sort through the stages of grief and the myriad emotions that arise as a part of it.  Without my own therapist, the losses I have gone through would have been much more challenging so I hope to provide that same support to you.