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San Diego Therapist, Couples Counseling & Therapy \ Death (Grief & Loss)

Death (Grief & Loss)

Loss is a fact of life. Every person will experience a significant loss at some point in their lives. The death of someone they love, the loss of a limb or body function, or even an intense disappointment can cause grief. Grief is the emotional distress we experience after a loss.  This emotional distress is the conflicting feelings of sorrow, anger, loneliness, sadness, anxiety or fear, shame and/or guilt.

Hiding or denying these emotions will cause you to remain “stuck” in them longer and prevent healing. You don’t need to try and navigate your way through the pain alone. We can help you to go through the grieving process faster and easier.

The stages of grief everyone goes through are:

  • DENIAL & ISOLATION - Denying the loss has occurred and withdrawing from usual social interactions. This can last moments, months or longer.
  • ANGER – Feeling angry at the person who inflicted the pain, the world or God for allowing this to happen, or ourselves for not stopping it from happening (even if we were powerless to change things).
  • BARGAINING – The belief that we can change things through bargaining. “If I do _____, then I wont hurt so much.”
  • DEPRESSION – There is numbness now (even as anger and sadness remain underneath). The person may withdraw from others, have trouble sleeping or sleep too much, eat too little or too much, or no longer find enjoyment in things that he/she used to enjoy.
  • ACCEPTANCE – There is an acceptance of the loss and the emotional distress has tapered off.

    • We will help you to: