4 Ways That Grief Counseling In California Can Change Your Life

Everyone moves through grief in a uniquely different way. It is a process of letting go and transforming the nature of your relationship with your loved one. It is the way you handle the loss you have experienced. Moving through grief can take a long and isn’t always easy to handle. If you’re dealing with grief, counseling may be helpful in this process.

Grief can’t be avoided or eliminated quickly. Check out this website to learn more about grief, with links to wonderful resources. There are however, there are some processes and activities that you can use to help you feel some relief as you heal.

1. Understand grief.

Working with a counselor helps you understand how you handle loss. It is a process that varies from one person to the next and changes depending on the nature of the relationship you had with the one you lost. The way you handle loss and grief may also change across your lifetime, depending on what you have experienced previously and where you are in your stage of life. Working with a counselor will help you understand how the multitude of feelings (anger, resentment, sadness, and guilt) may show up for you and how they might be impacting you and those around you.

2. Changing thoughts and feelings.

A common experience in grief is that of rapidly changing thoughts. Imagine going about your day fairly contentedly, listening to music. Unexpectedly, a song begins to play that reminds you of the one you have lost. Your thoughts, feelings and mood shifts instantaneously. In this example, it may be easy to understand why your thoughts and feelings shifted so rapidly. At other times, it may not be this apparent. Counseling can help you slow down what happens internally, giving you time to process your thoughts and feelings, without being swept away by them.

3. Concerns of loved ones.

The grief process can be different in each person, so the way you handle it may not be the same as your friends or family. Your loved ones may be concerned about your grieving process. They may feel your process is too short or too long. They may feel that you’re hiding your emotions or sharing them too much. Counseling provides the space for you to process your grief without worrying how it might affect those around you.

4. Grief counseling provides tools to get through.

In addition to processing your grief, therapy can offer, and guide you in the use of, various tools that help you tolerate distressing thoughts and feelings. For example, it may be helpful to use distractions to deal with grief. Distractions can help you temporarily forget the pain. Focusing on work or hobbies, watching a funny movie, or reading a great novel can help keep your mind occupied temporarily. This does not mean that you are forgetting about your loved one. It simply means that you are giving yourself a reprieve, so that you can come back to the work of grief. Another example, may be working with your therapist to develop your own personal way of saying goodbye to your loved one. This can be a deeply meaningful and impactful experience.

The grieving process can take a long time. There is no predetermined amount of time that you should be grieving and you don’t have to pretend that you are okay. The stages of the grief process can be overwhelming at times, but your journey to healing can be eased by seeking help from a counselor and finding ways that allow you to move forward past the devastating effects.

At Headway Therapy, we partner with you in your grieving journey, offering a space to share all of your thoughts and feelings. If you are ready to begin grief counseling, follow the steps below:

1. Contact Headway Therapy.
2. Meet with one of our expert therapists.
3. Begin your journey to healing from your loss.

In addition to Grief Counseling:

Grief counseling is not the only service we offer in our Encinitas therapy group. Other mental health services at Headway Therapy include treatment for depression and mood, anxiety treatment, marriage counseling, therapy for teens, therapy for children, counseling and support for infertility, therapy after miscarriage, and postpartum counseling. We look forward to connecting with you!