'We run from grief because loss scares us, yet our hearts reach toward grief because the broken parts want to mend' - Brene Brown.If we're old enough to love, then we're old enough to grieve which means none of us escape this life without experiencing loss. The perinatal period for many families involves reproductive loss of many kinds and these losses can also stir up previous losses.
As soon as loss happens, grief starts. Grief is universal and is the emotional and behavioural response to any loss, not necessarily a death. Grief is visceral and everyone's experience of grief is unique and individual to them. It can be an intensely private and lonely experience. Mourning is how you heal - the outward and active expression of grief and involves the messy process of working through the many stages of grief which may include denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and eventually meaning-making (Kubler-Ross and Kessler). At the core of grief counselling is creating opportunities for mourning - holding space where you feel safe to talk about and work through your loss with the goal of coping with and integrating this loss into your new life. I take your lead in pacing this work and aim to provide a safe and empathetic space to tell your story and make sense of this loss. |