The Heart of Healing Grief

 You don’t have to navigate this alone.

Grief is a universal emotion that can arise anytime a person loses someone or something of value.  Grief is a normal and natural response to loss.  The experience of grief must be allowed in order to heal. Grief can bring a wide range of emotions that often feel as if they came out of nowhere.  The grief experience is often compared to water, fluid and constantly moving and changing like waves in the ocean.

Grief can follow many kinds of losses:

The death of a loved may cause the most intense grief, but grief can also be experienced with other losses including:  Divorce or separation, diagnosis of disability or serious illness, miscarriage, loss of job or income, moving to a new home, loss of time with loved one who has grown up and moved, loss of dreams and goals, loss of sense of self, loss of friendships due to changes in your life, becoming a caregiver, staying single, getting married etc.  

It is always related to transition, the process of changing from one condition to another.  Throughout life we will experience change in many ways through aging and relationships and death.

Healing grief is essential through the process of allowance, while it is normal and natural to grieve, often our grief goes unsupported or unacknowledged, or judged.  Acceptance is not always easy, and there are a host of feelings that often can be overwhelming, such as anxiety, anger, deep sadness, that can feel like depression, guilt, loneliness.   

As a counselor, I was blessed with the opportunity to work at Hospice with families who were grieving, so I have witnessed  the many nuances and ways grief appears in many.  Everyone grieves differently, but the healing journey is the same, how to have acceptance and allow the emotions to be felt, heard without judgement, and healed with compassion and love.   

As counselor who specializes in grief, I offer a nonjudgmental environment in which you can allow all that is felt to be expressed along with coping strategies which increase self-care, compassion and self-love.  

Please feel to reach out with any question you may have around your grief experience.

-Vicki Accardi, LMHC