Grief Counseling

Grief is a painful reality we all must reckon with. It’s not an easy thing to lose what matters most to you, especially the people in your life, and it’s understandable why many struggle to cope well with grief. Coping with grief doesn’t mean denying the loss or even minimizing it or explaining it away. Coping is about learning to live with the loss, being able to carry on while bearing the wounds of separation from a loved one. Grief touches every aspect of who we are, and that includes our emotions, thoughts, bodies, and our spiritual lives. Grieving is the natural process of coming to terms with loss, and it is not a sign of weak faith. Jesus wept (John 11:35) at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, a testimony to how much He loved His friend. The sorrow of loss is all too real, but our ultimate hope is in Christ, even in our grief. Grief as Love with Nowhere to Go How do you begin to deal with grief and the sense of loss? For some, the only way they can see to deal with it is to see grief as a problem to be solved. In this way of thinking, the loss is something to get over as quickly as possible and return to doing life much the same as before. This can be a way of denying the loss, and it can have negative effects on one’s well-being. Another way to look at grief is to see it as a way of working through the significant change that has occurred in your relationship with your loved one. Instead of being a problem to solve, grief then becomes a way of working through the loss by evolving the relationship. Your connection to a lost loved [...]

Everything changes, and things don’t stay the same. These common reminders are especially true when something as tragic as the loss of a loved one occurs. In particular, the loss of a parent can set off a variety of emotions, thoughts, and memories that reinforce the painful reality that things don’t stay the same. If you lose a parent, there are healthy and unhealthy ways of dealing with the loss and grief that follows. Ways of Losing a Parent The loss of a parent can happen in different ways. Loss occurs in myriad ways. Generally, when we refer to loss, it typically means the death of a loved one. When a parent dies, whether through illness, suddenly, or as the result of old age, it is a deep loss, even when it’s expected. It’s also important to acknowledge that loss occurs in other ways as well. Sometimes, a person feels guilty for grieving their parent because their loss doesn’t look the same as what others have experienced. Loss can sometimes be more ambiguous, like if a parent abandons you and their whereabouts or circumstances are unknown. Loss can also occur if your parent has a degenerative condition like Alzheimer’s or dementia, which can feel like losing pieces of your parent each day. If your parent is terminally ill, their ill health and slow decline can result in anticipated grief. It can feel as though you’ve already lost them before it actually happens. Loss, then, takes many forms, but regardless of its guise, the grief that comes with that loss is real. Losing a Parent – Distinct from Other Forms of Loss It’s never wise to compare different forms of loss or pain. Each situation is unique, and you shouldn’t have to justify the pain you feel. All forms of grief [...]

Grieving is a natural part of life. We live in a fallen world of loss and failure until Jesus Christ returns. Understanding the grieving process can make the transition through the stages more bearable. When you understand that what you feel is expected, you can work through it. If you’re looking for Christian grief counseling in Plano, Texas, we can help. The Five Stages of the Grieving Process The grieving process consists of five stages. People vary, however, in how they process grief. For example, you may go through the grieving process in order as listed, while others may never experience specific stages or become stuck in one particular stage longer. The grieving process is normal, but if grief interferes with your daily life and your ability to move forward, then you may need a helping hand. Christian counseling can help you process your emotions, thoughts, and grief to accept the loss, but still move forward with a healthier mental state. Denial/Shock The denial or shock stage can leave you with a numb feeling. You may refuse to believe that the loss occurred, or you may go into “shock,” moving on with your day and trying to manage details while not processing your emotions. As with the other stages, denial can last days or weeks. Anger You may be angry at a person, business, situation, or yourself. You may be angry at God. Anger is a common emotion after loss, whether the death of a loved one, a business failure, or the loss of a relationship. To be angry is not always sinful; the emotion is natural. It is how we react to this anger that can cause problems. Bargaining Making bargains and vows to keep something from happening again or dwelling on the “why” behind a loss can [...]

One of the worst challenges one can face is adjusting to life after the death of someone we love. Even though most of us will experience this at some point in our lives, we are never prepared for it and unfortunately, our society does not generally understand grief and doesn’t have a space for it. You may have heard of the stages of grief, but what does that look like in real life, and is it really that simple? Christian grief counseling can help. Grief is Personal Grief shakes our world and is personal, confusing, exhausting, and may cause you to wonder if you are going crazy, if it will ever end, if you are “doing it right” or if anyone cares. There is no timeline for grief, no formula for how to grieve. There is no right way to grieve, but there is a right way for you, and a counselor can help you with this. You are not crazy. Whatever you are experiencing is normal. Grief may not end but it can get easier. How long will you miss the person you love? You will miss them for the rest of your life, but it will be less painful and become a manageable part of your life. The intensity of your grief will reflect the love of the person. You may feel alone in your grief, but remember that God cares deeply, as Psalm 34:18 (NASB) says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Plano Christian Counseling offers faith-based grief support to walk alongside you as you navigate loss and begin to find hope and healing. Because others around you may also be grieving and your usual support system is weakened or shaken, seeing a counselor to help during [...]

Experiencing loss can be painful, confusing, challenging, and deeply unsettling. One of the certainties of this life is that we all experience loss. That loss takes various forms, and while it won’t affect everyone the same way, we will all experience it. One of the ways to help you navigate grief is by making use of the seven stages of grief. The Nature of Grief Grief is the process we go through to come to terms with loss. Loss looks different for different people. Typically, we consider the death of a loved one to be a loss, but it’s not the only form of loss there is. It’s a loss if you lose your job or your home, and it’s also a loss to go through a breakup, separation, or divorce. When a person receives a terminal diagnosis or goes through a significant life transition like retirement, that is also a form of loss. When a loss occurs, it changes your life as you know it. The patterns, habits, and relationships that make up your life start to unravel, and the changes loss heralds can be deeply upsetting and unsettling. Grieving helps you come to terms with that loss. You may have heard about the five stages of grief, a model that the Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross pioneered through her work. Those five stages are denial, anger bargaining, depression, and acceptance. However, another model was developed to highlight the complexities of grief; there are often other emotions and thoughts going through a person as they grieve than these five stages suggest. Plano Christian Counseling offers compassionate, faith-based support to help individuals process grief in all its complexity and find hope in the healing journey. The Seven Stages of Grief The seven stages of grief are a way to help [...]