Stages of Grief Counseling

After losing someone special it is normal to feel a great deal of grief. Grief is not only experienced due to the death of a loved one, but also due to the loss of a job, a miscarriage, a relationship breakup, the loss of a friendship or the loss of your health. You can learn about the stages of grief and cope with your loss by talking to friends and family, joining a support group or attending counseling.

When to Seek Counseling

• While some can recover from their loss by talking with friends and family or seeking solace through religion, others need to seek professional help to deal with the loss. Examples of behaviors that signal the need for professional help include the desire to have died with the person, blaming yourself for the loss, feelings of numbness and disconnect, and an inability to perform daily activities.

Stages of Grief

• When attending grief counseling, you will learn the stages of grief. These include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. It is normal to go through each of these stages during the grieving process. During the denial stage you may question the reality of the loss, while during the anger stage you will try to assign blame for the loss. During the bargaining stage you will offer to give up something as to not encounter the loss. Many people bargain with God during this stage. When experiencing the depression stage you will feel too upset and sad to do anything. The final stage is acceptance, and this is when you finally accept and become at peace with the loss. Everyone experiences the grieving process differently and not everyone will experience each of these stages.

Recognize Normal Emotions

• Your therapist or counselor may outline the normal emotions you feel while undergoing the grieving process. These include but are not limited to sadness, feelings of emptiness, anger, shock and guilt. You may also experience physical symptoms of grief such as aches and pains, nausea, insomnia and fatigue. Once you have accepted your loss, you may feel some of these emotions crop up when reminded of the loss. Anniversaries, holidays and birthdays are examples of times you may feel sadness, anger, anxiety, a lack of interest and experience trouble eating and sleeping.