How to Cope With Grief

Posted: March 28, 2023

By: Natasha Cooke, Practicum Student Supervised by Melissa Barton, LPC-S What is grief? Grief is a strong and natural emotion we feel after a loss. Grief occurs after the death of a loved person or pet. However, grief can also happen after other significant losses. Some examples of situations that can cause grief include being diagnosed with a serious illness, becoming disabled, losing a job, or the end of a relationship.

What Does Grief Feel Like?

Grief feels like extreme sadness or emotional pain. But grief can also make some people feel numb or lost. Grief makes many people unable to carry on with daily routines. When a person is grieving, it can be hard to get out of bed in the morning or enjoy their favorite hobbies. Grief is also related to feelings of guilt. People that are grieving may feel guilty about a loved one’s death. Guilt from grief often occurs when we wish we had spent more time with the loved one we lost. It is essential to know that feeling guilty from grief is normal. While grief is a universal emotion, it feels different for everyone.

How Do I Cope with Grief?

The Mayo Clinic advises grieving people to become familiar with the grieving process. One of the first steps to coping is to understand that the grieving process cannot be controlled. If you are dealing with grief, you may feel like you will never be yourself again. You may think, “I’ll never get through this,” or “I’ll never be able to move on.” You may be thinking that you will feel sad or lonely forever. Even if it may not feel like it, or if you cannot picture yourself being happy again, understand that pain from grief lessens over time. Knowing that the grief process takes time and things will eventually get better is crucial.

Embracing Grief and 3 Tips to Cope

Become Familiar With The Stages of Grief

Grief is hard to understand. There are natural stages of grief that each person goes through. As stated by psychiatrist Kübler-Ross, the five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The time to process through stages of grief varies. The grieving process can take days, weeks, months, or longer. Learning about these stages and how you personally experience them can help.

Allow Yourself to Feel

The grieving process is challenging. It is important not to put yourself into a box. For example, you may think, “Why don’t I feel sadder today?” or “I shouldn’t be happy right now or laugh.” Give yourself grace and allow yourself to laugh or smile when you feel happy. The truth is that grieving is an up-and-down process. Go out and have fun when you feel like it. On the flip side, if you feel like crying or mourning even after it’s been years since your loss, allow yourself to do so. Let yourself experience grief in your own way.

Seek Help or Support for Grief

One of the best things you can do for your grief is to seek help. Reach out to friends and family. Talk to them about what you are going through. Ask someone to check in on you from time to time. Let others know how they can best support you during your grief. Seek professional help for grief from a Licensed Professional Counselor or Licensed Professional Counselor – Associate. Trained professionals can teach you more about the grief process and give you skills to cope. The combination of seeking help from loved ones and a professional is ideal.

Begin Therapy for Grief in Katy, TX!

If you are ready to cope with your grief, one of the therapists at The Center at Cinco Ranch can help! We provide mental health counseling, as well as other mental health services. To begin counseling in Katy, TX follow these three steps:

Contact our office to set up an appointment or to learn more about emotionally focused therapy
Meet with one of our compassionate therapists
Find ways to thrive in your relationship!

Other Therapy Services We Offer:

Here at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch, we offer counseling services for people of all ages in areas including counseling for kids, counseling for young adults, teen counseling, couples counseling, eating disorder treatment, men's issues, women's issues, anxiety treatment, depression therapy, trauma counseling, family therapy, and group counseling. Our therapists strive to post blogs regularly. We provide helpful information on a variety of mental health topics. To learn more about our therapists and our counseling services, please reach out to the Counseling Center today!