Storybook Counseling
Acerca de
Complicated Grief
Experiencing the loss of a loved one...
Grief is the natural process of mourning those we have lost. With complicated grief, emotions are so incredibly painful and severe that time is not lessening the impact of losing a loved one. Complicated grief tends to follow an egregious loss, including the loss of a child, spouse, parent, sibling, or close friend. Unexpected losses and untimely deaths do not follow the natural order of life. We may experience extreme anger, fear, a sense of injustice, and loneliness. The world appears to continue and life goes back to normal for everyone around you...but you are having a difficult time with this emptiness inside.
My experience as a Palliative Care and Hospice Social Worker has been life changing in my approach to complicated grief and loss. I have walked with many families through their journey of grief, listening to their fears, and providing healthy coping mechanisms and mind-fulness techniques that can quell the weight of grief.
When you have been given a terminal diagnosis...
You never expected this to happen. Things were going well, life was just getting started, you have plans for the future. Now, you find yourself sitting in the cold physician's office being told "there is nothing more we can do, I'm so sorry." How? How could this happen? I did everything right! Sure, no one is perfect, but how could this be happening to me? How do I function knowing that I am going to die? How do I tell my children, my spouse, my parents? What is the purpose of living when death is inevitable?
You are not alone. I have walked through this process intimately, with the untimely death of my dear sister to breast cancer. She was cured...until it returned with a vengeance. Being given only months to live, she fought fiercely against the disease that would ultimately claim her life.
When life hands you a crap hand of cards to play, you may feel like giving up. You may ask, what's the point? I'm here to remind you of this mantra: Let death be what takes you, do not let yourself die inside even a moment before. I am here for you. I am a safe place for you to scream, to let everything out, to get angry with what has happened to you. I'm also here to pick you up, remind you that there is still life yet to be lived, and to work on legacy building. I've designed a legacy building program that enables you to share your words of wisdom, love, and hope for your children and loved ones. Your story doesn't have to end here. I will walk alongside you in your journey, providing support, encouragement, and memory building activities you can leave for those you cherish the most.