What is grief?
Grief is a normal reaction and response to loss. Grief is the form love takes when someone dies. People grieve differently. You may feel sad, scared, angry, numb, and/or guilty. You may feel disoriented or out of touch with reality. You may feel like you’re in a fog and no longer have an interest in things you used to enjoy. You may experience frequent thoughts about the person who died or the circumstances around their death. This is all a normal reaction to a loss and can last for weeks, months, and maybe even years.
During periods of acute grief following the loss, it is common to experience waves of intense yearning, longing, or sorrow. As you adapt to the loss, you will start to understand and accept the reality. It is normal to fluctuate between accepting the reality and disbelief that the person is gone. You may start to see possibilities for the future and still find yourself thinking about the past or the circumstances around your loved one’s death.
As you start to understand and acknowledge the reality, you can begin to build a new and ongoing relationship with the person who died. Adapting to the loss brings hope for joy and more pleasant times in the future. This does not mean that you move on, let go, or get over it. The opposite is true.
Grief is ongoing, but changes form over time. As you adapt and mourn the death, you learn how to live with the loss, stay connected to the person who died, and have a meaningful life.
What is prolonged grief?
Prolonged grief, sometimes called complicated grief, happens when something gets in the way of adapting to the loss of a loved one. There are some thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can make it harder to accept the reality of a loss and keep you feeling stuck. For example, second-guessing if the loss could have been prevented or intensely trying to avoid reminders of your loved one can interfere with mourning.
Prolonged grief disorder is a persistent type of grief that interferes with functioning. It involves intense yearning or longing for the person who died and preoccupation with thoughts and memories of your loved one most of the day, nearly every day for at least one month. You may have prolonged grief disorder if it has been at least 12 months since you experienced death and you are having trouble re-engaging in your life, feel extended numbness or loneliness, and/or have difficulty imagining a future that does not feel empty. You may continue to experience disbelief about the death or have intense emotional pain most of the day related to the loss.
What is prolonged grief therapy?
Prolonged grief therapy helps you to get unstuck, mourn your loss, and continue your relationship and connection with the deceased. Prolonged grief therapy allows you to grieve and imagine a future with happiness. Grief does not disappear. It comes in waves and can easily be triggered in more difficult times. This is normal. People with prolonged grief disorder have trouble truly grieving and mourning the loss most of the day nearly every day, not just during difficult times. Sometimes the circumstances around the death are hard to understand and can get in the way of remembering positive times and grieving the person who died. Therapy will help you to process your thoughts and emotions about the death, find comfort, and reconnect with your life.
Are you interested in learning more about prolonged grief therapy?
