Bereavement And Grief

Everyone’s experience of grief and loss is unique. It is normal to feel sad and even angry when a person close to us dies or leaves. People can experience similar feelings when a relationship ends.

Mourning is a ‘cycle of loss’ which often includes denial, fear, loneliness, grief, anger and letting go. It is a painful process but allows us to come to terms with the loss.
Grief, although normal, can manifest itself differently in people. Some people move through its different stages almost effortlessly and others can get stuck at one stage.
For these there is the possibility of grief turning into depression as the feelings turn inwards to despair.

Some of the effects of bereavement:
“I’m exhausted!”– the physical signs and symptoms of grief

“Are you sure I’m not going crazy?”– emotional and mental symptoms

“Where are all my friends?” — social changes

“So where was God during all of this?” — spiritual challenges

“Is this bizarre, or what?” — unusual experiences

“Do I need help?” — warning signs that professional help is needed
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These are some of the physical symptoms you may experience:

ENERGY– Exhaustion, muscle tightness or weakness, body pains, fidgety restlessness, lack of energy.
NOTE: The work of grieving expends a tremendous amount of energy. Fatigue is usually self-limiting and will improve over time.
SLEEP — Insomnia, sleeping too much, disturbing dreams
NOTE: Sleeping pills do not provide the level and quality of sleep your body needs right now. Just don’t fall into the habit of popping a sleeper every night. This is never advisable, and especially unhealthy for “grief relief”. 

DIGESTIVE UPSET — Loss of appetite, overeating, nausea, “hollow stomach”, indigestion, intestinal disorders like diarrhea, excessive weight gain or loss
NOTE: Your stomach will settle down as you do.

Any loss has to be acknowledged for us to move forward. Bereavement means finding a suitable place for the lost person to allow life to continue with adaptation and change, not forgetting or wiping out the memory.

For More Information

Counselling is an approach to treating problems, in which a counsellor sees a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having, distress they may be experiencing or perhaps their dissatisfaction with life. By listening attentively and patiently the counsellor can begin to perceive the difficulties from the client’s point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, possibly from a different perspective. Counselling is a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion. It does not involve giving advice or directing a client to take a particular course of action.