Grief & Loss

Grief is an exceptionally strong emotion, frequently accompanied by feelings of anger, guilt and remorse. It’s a natural reaction to loss, whether it’s the loss of a loved one, relationship, pet, job, home, etc.

Loss is embedded in the process of living. It happens to everyone and it is inevitable. There is no such thing as constant gain in our lives. Despite our wish to live in the security of abundance and perfect health, we necessarily must lose something. Indeed, time itself will eventually create loss. We come into this world with everything to gain and leave it with everything to lose. And in between we go through a series of gains and losses. Learning to accept both is a sign of wellness, maturity – and even wisdom.

Feeling Grief

At first, the intense emotional and physical pain of grief can be overwhelming and seemingly uncontrollable. People’s responses to loss are partially dependent on their relationship with the lost person or thing but, it’s a very individual experience, everyone experiences and reacts to grief in different ways.

Coping with Grief and Loss

There is no one right way to grieve. Your experience of grief, including its length and intensity, will be unique.

To begin the process of working through grief, you must first acknowledge it. When asking people for assistance through this difficult time, you need to be assertive and articulate your needs.  The goal of the person dealing with loss is to move through the various stages of the loss process, to learn from and appreciate the impact of the loss, and to achieve closure so that life in the future can be experienced more fully with integrity, insight and wisdom.

At Stewart & Associates we offer loss counselling to assist you through grief and help you move towards acceptance.