Women's Wellbeing Counselling

Grief and Loss

The intense feelings which come with grieving for a person or personal loss can be debilitating and keep you feeling trapped; sometimes for long periods of time. Feelings such as anger, deep sadness, guilt, anxiety, shock, helplessness, loneliness and numbness are all normal feeling which may be experienced. The intensity of these feelings may ebb and flow, one day may be different from another and reminders of the loss can seem to be everywhere. Yearning and longing can also take up a good deal of energy and it may seem that nobody understands what is happening to you. You may even feel that you are expected to ‘put on a brave face’.

Physical symptoms could include feeling hollow, tightness in the chest or throat, breathlessness, feeling ‘out of touch’, lack of energy and weak muscles. These are all normal responses to the grief and loss experience, and with gentle guidance, can be worked through.

“How long will I feel like this?’ is a frequent question. ‘I can’t bear it any longer.’

Firstly, it is ok to experience all or some of the symptoms and feelings described and reassure you that it is very normal. People have often described a sense of ‘going mad’ because everything appears to be distorted and emotionally painful. This is a normal grief reaction and will change over time.

With counselling and psychotherapy to guide you, we will find solutions which are uniquely yours. We will work at your own pace, depending on how you are feeling at the time and gently work towards moving on with life without the intense feelings of emotional and physical pain.

Trauma

Whether trauma is experienced during childhood or adulthood, it has the possibility of affecting your whole lifetime if left untreated. Trauma can have a profound influence on relationships, for example being over protective of own children and having unworkable ‘rules’, lack of intimacy with significant partners, and limited or no sexual spontaneity and an inability to establish and maintain trusting friendships and workplace relations.

Struggling with feelings of insecurity, anger, grief, alienation, distrust, confusion, loneliness, shame and self-loathing are all normal responses to traumatic experiences. Feeling detached and numb and unable to ‘fit in’ are things which some people describe. ‘Nobody understands me’ and ‘I don’t even know who I am’ are frequent statements.

It is never too late to start the healing process and your remarkable resilience and strong capacity for survival will be a sound foundation on which we can begin to build your future.

For more information or to make an enquiry contact Carol today!!