Are You Shouldering The Heavy Burden Of Grief?

Have you lost someone or something, including a job, a pet, or a dream you had?

Are you overwhelmed with emotions following your loss?

And is it hard to stay motivated or engaged in your normal, everyday activities because your grief feels so heavy?

Loss can be debilitating. In addition to the acute feelings of sadness and despair you may be experiencing, you might struggle with daily disruptions that keep you from functioning at your highest capacity. Whether you’re regularly tearful, distracted, or lethargic, you’re probably wondering if you will ever feel “normal” again. Not to mention that your sleep has likely been impacted, preventing you from feeling rested and able to cope properly.

Grief Can Turn Your World Completely Upside Down

No matter what age you are or what you have lost, grief can affect every aspect of life. Aside from needing to take time away from school or work, you may have noticed your relationships shifting in the aftermath of your loss. Perhaps those around you aren’t being as supportive or understanding as you would like. And even if you are surrounded by people who have also been affected by the loss, you may feel as though you’re having an entirely different bereavement experience from them.

It's so hard saying goodbye. Though you rationally understand that you can’t get back what you’ve lost, your emotions may be struggling to catch up. That’s why it’s important to seek the support of a trained, unbiased therapist as you process your grief. Through counseling, you can acknowledge and overcome the pain of grief, setting the stage to move forward.

Loss Is An Unfortunate Aspect Of Being Human

Grief is a universal human experience. All of us will lose something in our lives, but we’re not always given the proper tools or guidance for managing bereavement.

Grief is also a complex process involving a range of difficult emotions. Alongside intense feelings of sadness, anger, fear, guilt, and regret, bereaved people often experience shifts in their self-perception and identity. Loss typically marks new and significant transitions in our lives, forcing us to leave behind a vision of what we once thought was possible.

But counseling offers meaningful time and space to reflect on and process your emotions. Working with a grief therapist, you can learn effective coping strategies as you begin to heal and create new ways to honor what has been lost.

Therapy For Grief And Loss Through Halos Counseling

Unfortunately, our society doesn’t have many structures in place to meaningfully support those who are grieving. We aren’t taught to acknowledge the trauma of loss. But grief counseling is an opportunity to carve out intentional time with a skilled therapist who will tailor the treatment process to your unique loss and goals for therapy.

At Halos Counseling, we provide grief support to clients with a wide range of experiences. Whether you are reeling from the loss of a loved one or making a pivot following the loss of a job, relationship, or expectation for your life, we will make sure that you have the skills and perspectives you need to heal and find peace.

What To Expect

Therapy will begin with us gathering information about your history and loss, seeking to better understand the complexities of your grief. As you recall memories with your counselor, you will be encouraged to explore the emotions that come up when thinking about your loss. Using this information, we can identify some of the physical, emotional, and spiritual transformations taking place as you move through the grieving process.

From there, we will offer you behavioral techniques and self-care skills that you can draw from anytime you feel flooded by emotions. Some of these skills may be relational, allowing you to practice assertiveness and establish healthy boundaries with those around you. Such skills will also be useful in identifying your grief triggers so that you can manage distress as it arises.

Finally, we will explore ways to stay connected through loss. Your therapist can provide life-changing perspectives on how to honor the dead as you forge a new relationship with them. Working with our counselors, you can begin to recognize that just because someone or something has passed on, it doesn’t mean that your connection is permanently severed. This will not only allow you to honor the memory of what was lost—it will also help you maintain stronger, more supportive connections to the people, places, and things that are still here.

Grief is a completely normal and human response to loss; in fact, it would be unhealthy to not experience intense feelings and emotions following a loss. But you don’t have to shoulder those intense emotions on your own. Working with the therapists at Halos Counseling, you can establish a healing pathway to move through the heaviness of your grief.

Maybe You’re Still Not Sure If Grief Counseling Is Right For You…

What if I’m not ready to “move on” from my grief?

Everyone’s grief journey is different, and we will meet you exactly where you are on that journey. Your therapist certainly won’t expect you to move through this process on a specific timeline. Regardless, counseling can be a deeply meaningful opportunity to better understand heavy emotions and create new ways for honoring your loss. And the process is designed to move at your pace.

It will be too painful to discuss my grief with a counselor.

The aim of therapy is to help you feel better, not worse. While painful emotions are likely to come up throughout grief counseling, that is both normal and okay. Our therapists are unbiased, trained, and nonjudgmental. We will give you concrete coping strategies to use whenever you feel upset and overwhelmed.

No matter how heavy your emotions are, it’s important to be honest with your counselor so that they can tailor the grief support process to meet your needs.

How long until I feel better?

Time spent in grief counseling varies from person to person. Some of our clients only need a few sessions of therapy immediately following their loss, while others require ongoing grief counseling. It’s possible that you will discover new complications or obstacles while working through your grief, so we will work with you in treatment for as long as you need.

You Don’t Have To Manage The Pain Of Your Loss On Your Own

Grief can be a heavy burden, but the therapists at Halos Counseling can ease the pain and offer life-changing support. To request a free, 15-minute consultation or find out more about how we can help, please contact us.

Grief Counseling in Charlotte, NC