The Importance of Grieving
When someone you care about passes away, and you aren’t there with them, you might feel many different emotions. Not being there during the loss of a loved one can bring up feelings of remorse, guilt, and shame. Many people don’t know how to grieve or how to cope.
Understanding the importance of grieving is crucial, especially if you have lost someone you love. Below, Counseling of Southwest Florida explains why you should allow yourself to grieve, how you can cope with sadness, and moving past grief.
Allow Yourself to Grieve
The Mayo Clinic defines grief as “the natural reaction to loss.”1 Though many people associate this feeling with death, grief isn’t limited to the loss of a person. One can grieve the loss of many things, from jobs to relationships and more.
When you have lost something you care about, grief is essential as it’s part of the healing process. Trying to ignore your feelings or not admitting the feelings you have will negatively impact you and those around you. You need to allow yourself to grieve if you want to move forward in your life.
Grieving is different for everyone. Some prefer to be in solitude, while some people need to be surrounded by others. However you choose to grieve, you need to be kind to yourself. Accept that you will have times where you can keep it together, and other times you’ll want to cry. Crying is nothing to be ashamed of and is an integral part of grieving.
Coping With Sadness
When you are grieving, you are probably coping with sadness as you have never felt before. What can you do to handle your feelings better and get back to being you?
Some things you can do to help you cope with sadness include:
- Connect with friends or family
- Journal your feelings
- Do activities you enjoy (crafting, music, exercising, and more)
- Help others
- Give it time
You probably noticed that the last suggestion was to give it time. It’s okay to be patient and allow yourself the time you need to grieve. What is most important is remembering that grieving is a process that won’t stop overnight.
Moving Past Grief
When you are moving past grief or trying to, you can probably use some help. Contact our counselors in Southwest Florida to get yourself or your loved one the help you need in grieving. Call our admissions team at 239-775-0039 or visit our Southwest Florida treatment center today and get the help you or a loved one needs. Dealing with grief can be challenging, but you don’t have to do it alone.
Speak with one of our admissions specialists, who are ready to give you complete details regarding your next steps. You also visit our resources page to find out more about our services and things you can do. At Counseling of Southwest Florida, we’re here to help.
SOURCE:
1 – Mayo Clinic – https://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-visitor-guide/support-groups/what-is-grief
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.