Understanding Grief

I'm immersed in my studies these past few months and learning so much that I can put into practice with my clients, but also that I am finding therapeutically beneficial within my own life.

Grief is s topic that I've spent the past few weeks learning A TON about.

And while there's so many layers and stages to grief, there's two simplistic things I know that I wanted to share with you.

First of all grief is incredibly personal.

There is no 'one size fits all'.

You can never know EXACTLY what someone else is going through, just like no one can ever full appreciate YOUR grief.

We all experience and cope with grief differently.

And the other is that you can't outrun it.

Grief demands acknowledgement.

You can attempt to hide from it, bury it, and run from it, but it will manifest in your life until you've dealt with it.

I can offer you plenty of clinical and psychological advice that is fresh in my mind, but here's what I learned from my personal experience . . .

Grief doesn't go away.

But time changes our inner landscape.

The best you can do is sit with your pain.

By this I mean acknowledge the loss, feel the anger and the sadness.

And know that it will shape you and be a part of your journey, just as joy and happiness is.