The Prominence of Grief and Its Symptoms
Each year, more than 2 million people pass away in the United States alone. Every death leaves behind a group of individuals, usually around 1–5 friends and relatives, who are deeply impacted by their loss (Iglewicz, 2020). Whether the death is expected, as in the case of the elderly or those in hospice, or a sudden event such as a tragic accident, the loss of someone with whom you share a close relationship can have detrimental effects.
While grief affects each person uniquely, there are many common symptoms that appear frequently in cases of bereavement. Many people report feeling a loss of connection with reality. This can include a distorted sense of the past and present, particularly regarding memories related to the person who passed away. Additionally, this is often correlated with decreased hope for the future. Life may seem meaningless (Iglewicz, 2020).
Grief also has many other symptoms. According to Healthline, feelings of sadness, anger, and numbness are common in those suffering from grief. Surprisingly, these intense emotions don’t just affect you emotionally, they affect you physically as well. Physiological symptoms include disrupted sleep, decreased heart health, digestive issues, and weakened immunity.
Why Therapy Is the Solution for Grief
Therapy is the right solution for grief. It provides structured support for individuals while helping them process their emotions. There are many reasons therapy can be beneficial, such as retaining hope for the future, learning coping skills, and providing a structured routine. So if you or someone you know is experiencing grief, consider therapy.
Reason 1: Providing Much-Needed Support
In therapy, clinicians provide support and care to individuals undergoing difficult periods of their lives, including loss. Their compassion can be truly beneficial.
They offer this support in a variety of ways, the first of which is active listening. They offer condolences as patients share their grief story and give them an opportunity to share happy memories of the individual before their passing.
They also offer support in more indirect ways. This includes using proper tone, body language, and pauses to convey sympathy (Iglewicz, 2020). This demonstration of natural human compassion can be very meaningful.
Reason 2: Establishing a Routine
As mentioned above, the death of a loved one can damage one’s sense of the future. This sadness can lead to self-isolation, such as an individual not wanting to leave their house. Shutting oneself off from the world only adds to the pain, which is why therapy can be so advantageous.
Therapy appointments are typically booked in sessions, and most sessions occur once a week for a set amount of time. However, a client can receive therapy multiple times a week depending on their needs. Whatever the client decides, the routine of attending therapy provides needed structure and prevents intense isolation. It ensures the grieving individual has at least one regularly planned activity.
Reason 3: Understanding and Accepting Grief
Grief is a complicated and painful process. It affects everyone differently and creates numerous daily challenges that can interfere with everyday life. Therapy can help people begin their healing journey by first working to understand their grief and how it has affected them. After this, they start to learn to accept grief’s role in their lives.
During sessions, patients are encouraged to ask questions. Why do I feel this way? What has made me feel worse? What has helped me feel better? Determining the answers to these questions can lead to a better understanding of oneself.
Therapists also help their clients see that they are not alone in the grief process. They can work to identify the support systems someone has in their life and how those systems can help them accept their grief. They also share information about treatment and how successful it can be.
Reason 4: Learning Healthy Coping Strategies
A coping strategy is a behavior used to deal with an adverse emotion. There are many different coping strategies, ranging from healthy to unhealthy. Healthy coping can include activities like exercise or journaling, while unhealthy coping can include behaviors such as self-isolation or substance use.
Together with their therapists, clients learn which coping strategies are best for them. If they are doing anything unhealthy, they are given alternatives. For example, a therapist might suggest a client go for daily walks when they notice the urge to take out their sadness or anger on the people around them.
Reason 5: Honoring the Person Who Passed Away
Despite the fact that someone has passed away, our relationship with that individual doesn’t have to end. They can live on in our memories and in the stories we tell others. Therapy can help people realize this. During sessions, patients learn to honor their loved one’s life instead of focusing on the grief of their death.
Reason 6: Managing Painful, Intense Emotions
The grieving process is full of intense, overwhelming emotions. These negative emotions can often feel all-consuming, and they can have a deeply detrimental effect on the individual experiencing them. Therapy can help.
One way therapists support their clients is by helping them monitor their grief, becoming aware of the grief-related emotions they are feeling and trying to locate a cause. Typically, therapists ask their clients to reflect on their day and take a mental note of when their grief was most and least intense (Iglewicz, 2020). They then work to identify common triggers and pinpoint practices that help reduce the grief.
Reason 7: Retaining Hope for a Bright Future
Grief can make people lose sight of their lives. They may become uninterested in, or even completely opposed to, the goals and aspirations they once had. This is when a therapeutic intervention is necessary.
One way therapists help is by setting current goals and tracking progress. While these goals may have changed from before, it’s important that those undergoing grief still have something to strive for.
Reason 8: Strengthening and Maintaining Current Relationships
In most cases, the person who passed away isn’t the only person in the grieving individual’s life. These other relationships might suffer during the grieving process, which can lead to further isolation. It’s a therapist’s role to help prevent this. They talk with their clients about ongoing relationships and encourage them to engage in social activities.
Reason 9: Treating Co-occurring Conditions
A co-occurring condition is one that exists alongside grief. It’s quite common for mental health conditions to develop alongside one another, and depression, anxiety, and other related disorders are often associated with grief. They warrant proper treatment.
Therapy can help combat these conditions in tandem. It lessens the pressure of dealing with multiple mental health conditions at once and makes symptoms more manageable. This can be life-changing.
Reason 10: All the Other Benefits of Therapy
Therapy has numerous other benefits beyond its effectiveness in treating grief. It can help people with emotional regulation, reaching their goals, identifying toxic patterns in their lives, and so much more. Therapy is a road toward self-improvement. Start your journey today and book your first session.
