Dealing with Grief and Loss in Recovery
Dealing With Grief and Loss in Recovery Tips
One of the most traumatic and important events that someone has to deal with is the loss of a loved one. Unfortunately, many people have to deal with this event when they are undergoing recovery from drug or alcohol addiction. This could either throw a wrench into their recovery journey or cause a relapse if people do not know how to correctly deal with it. In the following article, Counseling of Southwest Florida details some of the best ways that someone can begin dealing with grief and loss in recovery. Continue reading below to learn more from our Florida addiction therapy professionals.
Healthy Ways to Deal With Grief and Loss
There are many healthy and unhealthy ways to deal with grief and loss. One of the most unhealthy ways that someone could deal with grief and loss is to use drugs or alcohol to deal with the emotions that inevitably accompany grief and loss. Even more so, using drugs and alcohol to deal with grief could trigger a relapse and offset any progress that has been experienced during the time in recovery. Losing a loved one is one of the principal triggers of drug and alcohol use, and it is important to manage these triggers as best as one can.
On the other hand, some of the most healthy ways for dealing with grief and loss in recovery are the following:
- Allow for time to process emotions and allow yourself to be depressed. This should work as motivation to find healthy outlets for the emotional turmoil that you will be experiencing. Some of these include exercise and spending time outside of your home. Our Florida cognitive behavioral therapy services recommend that you adopt a healthier diet, meditate, and practice yoga.
- Find a local grief support group or grief and loss therapy training. These function very similarly to support groups that deal with drug and alcohol addiction. These allow for people that are experiencing the same emotions to relate to each other and give useful tips on how to better deal with them.
- Allow yourself to deal with it at a different pace. No two people deal with grief at the same pace, and you should know that your own unique timeline is not flawed and that it will take time to come to terms with your situation.
How to Help Someone Deal With Grief and Loss
Having someone you know that needs to deal with grief and loss during recovery could be extremely difficult. We recommend that you be one of the principal people in their lives that encourages them to take on healthy outlets like exercise, yoga, or meditation. It would be even more helpful if you become their partner and motivate them on days that they are feeling especially down.
More About Counseling of Southwest Florida
How do I deal with grief and loss during recovery? The answer depends on your unique situation and which healthy outlets you choose to use. Aside from useful resources like this one, we could also offer the following:
- Therapy for anger management
- Group therapy for bipolar disorder
- Marriage counseling and Florida and marriage counseling in Fort Myers, Florida
- Batterer intervention program
- And much more…
Contact us today to learn more.
Casey is the founder and CEO of Portner Counseling Group (PCG), a counseling center in the Fort Lauderdale area, which specializes with issues related to drug and alcohol use. Casey has completed focused course work on the physiological aspects of drug addiction and human psychology, as well as received extensive training on the treatment of co-occurring disorders.