Friday, March 7, 2008

How to handle grief?

Losing someone that a person greatly cares about, whether it is a friend or a family member can be extremely stressful. It can even cause a person to fall into a state of depression because the stress is overwhelming. This is more often the case when an individual has lost their life partner because with the death of their spouse they have lost someone who they have been close to for so many years. That familiarity is gone, as is the comfort and security of having someone around who cares about them and who they have been able to confide in whenever in a down mood. In this particular case, they can become saddened and then greatly depressed because they no longer have that person to confide in and seek comfort from. This is where help from a therapist or a counselor can help a person cope with the loss and hopefully help the individual to avoid falling into a depressive state.

Help and support from family is often recommended, but with not everyone has family near by to give them the support they need. Sometimes, family is just too far away, or the person doesn’t really have any family around at all. A therapist or a counselor can be a great person to chat with and confide in when there is no one else around. They can also be good to talk to even if there is family around. There are many people out there who have difficulty in expressing their thoughts and feelings. A therapist can help the individual put down their barriers so that they can express their thoughts and feelings in response to the loss of the person they were close with. The therapist can then go on to help the person work through their mourning and help them to go on with their life. All too often a person who has lost someone close to them will find it difficult to move on and constantly have the deceased person foremost in their mind. It can become a major distraction on work and life. It can push the person into a depressive state that can make moving on nearly impossible. This is where the therapist or counselor can be of great help. They can work with the patient to help them grieve the loss properly and then be able to move on with their lives without their unresolved grief consuming them.

A loss of a family member or a close friend is never easy. It is one of the most common causes of depression for many people every year. Some people are able to grieve and continue on with their lives to develop new friendships and to accept that the loved one is gone. Others are not so able to accept the loss and move on. It is always recommended that when someone looses someone they care about they consult a therapist or a counselor to work through their grief. Most people who see a therapist in regards to someone they have lost are able to slowly let go of much of the hurt and sadness they are feeling, and then eventually move on with their life.

No comments: