Newsletter No.3
Date: April 2010
LossDepending on life experience, loss means different things to different people. Death and bereavement are often the first things that spring to mind. Death is a natural phenomenon and everyone will experience grief at the loss of someone or something special at some point in life. It is a fact of life itself. The grief process is much researched and there are varying theories but they all follow a similar theme. There is a time of shock and accepting the reality of the situation. There is the anger at being left behind or just being in a situation that requires having to cope. There is the despair and sometimes depression and this is all a process that needs to be worked through until a level of emotional acceptance is reached and an individual can truly move on. This can happen quickly for some, more slowly for others and occasionally it can take a lifetime. Loss can include separation and divorce, redundancy, miscarriage, termination, moving/leaving home, changing jobs, changing school/college/university, loss of childhood for various reasons and loss of health. These are all occurrences that happen in life and the depth of loss felt by any one individual will depend on the emotional investment involved. The common denominator in all of these to varying degrees, is the attachment to what has been lost, the expectations and plans that are no more and the adapting and acceptance of the resulting changes. The key to handling any of this is learning to accept feelings for what they are and having faith that the intensity of these feelings will subside with time. If they remain unacknowledged and are suppressed then they are stored in a stronger form only to re-emerge at a later date, usually in a more destructive way. Counselling is a comforting way to help work through this process. With most bereaved there is a feeling of not wanting to burden others, especially if they are grieving the same loss but also the counselling process allows an individual to have that total time and space to themselves without fear of being selfish. Grief, for whatever loss experience, needs time and space to heal and when other areas of life continue regardless the counselling environment is an ideal place to take the time out for much needed self care. If you would like to discuss further or make an appointment please email or call. email: jane@therapygateway.com Tel: 0845 397 1124 | 
