
Supporting someone who is grieving
It can be very hard to know how to support someone who is grieving (or indeed know how to ask for that support from others),
The death or loss of a loved one can be an incredibly overwhelming experience. Many people are shocked by the impact that it can have on them emotionally and the range of feelings that can result (e.g. anger, anxiety, jealousy, shame). Whilst grief is a very normal and expected experience, it can be an incredibly challenging and lonely time, and many people find comfort in talking through their experiences with a therapist. Moreover, the impact can last longer than expected and can manifest in other ways, for example ongoing low mood, anxiety or symptoms of trauma, and these can impact on your ability to engage in your day to day life. This is when it is beneficial to see a highly skilled psychologist, who is able to provide you with an individualised approach to therapy using a range of evidence based therapies.
It can be very hard to know how to support someone who is grieving (or indeed know how to ask for that support from others),
The idea of a stages of grief model was first proposed by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying which she
‘No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering