Grief Tsunamis

Grief creates a flood of feelings for many people. Initially there is often shock, disbelief and numbness. This feeling of the world being so SURREAL. Our heads say “This can’t be happening!” while our emotions are swirling in reaction to this loss that is so overwhelming.

It can sneak up on us in an instant:

• Hearing a song that reminds us of our loved one

• Smelling pumpkin pie that makes you want to call dad for the recipe

• Reaching for your partner’s favorite BBQ sauce on aisle 5 at the grocery store…only to realize they are not there anymore.

Here’s a few emotions that we can experience (and many times its many feelings all at once)

• FEAR

• HELPLESSNESS

• Panic

• Agony

• Yearning

• Numbness

• Sadness

• Irritability

• Agitated

• Angry

• Powerlessness

• Vulnerable

• ALONE

• RELIEF (and usually guilt for feeling that?)

• Guilt

• Proud

• Abandoned

• Longing

• Loneliness

• Meaninglessness

• Weird

What feelings have you had in the depth of your grief?

It can be helpful to have someone to talk to about your emotions. Someone who is trained in how to help you through the pains of grief. Someone who YOU don’t have to take care of or worry about hurting their feelings. Many times, our clients will tell us they have felt so isolated in their grief and don’t want to “burden” their friends.