Coping with grief and the loss of a loved one can be an excruciating experience. However much a person feels prepared for someone close to them to die (particularly the case if there has been a long illness), the disbelief, shock, anger and debilitating sadness is inevitable.
It is my experience working with clients over the years that ‘Grief has no Timetable’. Although there are stages through which people go, when this happens is not predictable. Some people are so numbed by the loss that they withdraw from feeling anything, only to find years later that they are overwhelmed with it. This often happens with subsequent loss – it is as if a new loss triggers unresolved feelings about previous losses.
Grief counselling can help you cope with the loss and deal with the complicated feelings towards the person. Sometimes the relationship with the person who has died was complicated and even abusive or unhappy. Whatever the relationship, dealing with your grief so you can make sense of your relationship with them will help you move forward in a renewed way.