Grief Counseling Services in Charlotte

There is no right or wrong way to grieve, but there are healthy ways to deal with the grieving process. Grief is a natural human response to the loss of a loved one. Grief shows itself in many ways. It moves in and out of stages from disbelief and denial, to anger and guilt, to finding a source of comfort, to eventually accepting and making adjustments to the loss. The therapists at the Bareiter Counseling Center in Charlotte, North Carolina can help. They are skilled in working with individuals in the Charlotte area who are coping with grief and loss.

Grief is the emotional suffering you feel when someone or something you love is taken away. You may feel all kinds of difficult and unanticipated emotions including shock, anger, disbelief, guilt, and sadness. The pain of grief can also affect your physical health, making it hard to eat, sleep, and even think correctly. These are normal reactions to loss. And the more significant the loss, the more extreme your grief will be. 

Coping with grief and the loss of someone or something you love is one of our biggest challenges. The loss of a loved one is the most intense type of grief, but any loss can cause grief, including:

• Loss of health
• A miscarriage
• Loss of friendship
• Loss of a job
• Death of a pet
• Loss of financial stability
• A loved one’s serious illness
• Retirement
• Divorce or relationship breakup

Whatever your loss, it’s intensely personal to you, so don’t feel ashamed about how you feel. Whatever the cause of your grief, there are healthy ways to cope, and in time, come to terms with your loss, find new meaning, and eventually move on with your life. 

Grieving is an intensely individual experience. There is really no right or wrong way to grieve. How you grieve depends on many factors, including your personality, your faith, your coping technique, and how important the loss was to you. One thing is certain – the grieving process takes time. Healing is gradual – it can’t be forced or hurried. Some people start to feel better in weeks or months. For others, the grieving process can take years. Whatever your grieving experience, it’s imperative that you be patient and allow the process to naturally take its course.

The grieving process is measured in stages, as developed by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in 1969. Those stages are:

• Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.”
• Anger: “Why is this happening? And who is to blame?”
• Bargaining: “Make this go away and in return I will…”
• Depression: “I’m too sad to do anything.”
• Acceptance: “I’m now OK with what happened.”

Aside from the emotional grieving process, grief can take on many physical problems, like fatigue, nausea, lowered immunity, insomnia, and weight loss or weight gain. Whatever you’re experiencing, you’ll want to withdraw from others and retreat into your own shell. Having in-person support of other people is vital to healing from loss. Sharing your loss with others can make the grieving process manageable. The key is not to go it alone.

At the Bareiter Counseling Center in Charlotte, our skilled grief therapists are here to ensure you that you do not have to be alone in your grief and that you do not have to move on from your loved one. As you move forward in life, your loved one will always be with you because they shaped the person that you are today. Counseling is a chance to honor their memory, work through your grief, and forge a new identity in the wake of your loss. Grief counseling can help you create meaning in the face of your loss.

The hardest part of grieving takes place months, and in some cases years, after a person dies. That’s when all the flowers and sympathy cards stop arriving. It’s also when most people around you have moved on and stopped calling to make sure you’re alright. As a result, you don’t have as many outlets for your grief. You’re expected to “get it together” and go back to your normal life. The problem is that the early stage of grief is considered the first year after a death, so this expectation is simply unrealistic.

Therapy gives you an outlet to discuss your loss without any reservations. At the Bareiter Counseling Center in Charlotte, you don’t have to worry about taking too long to process your grief. Our grief counselors are here to respect the unique way you grieve and to honor whatever emotions come to the surface. Our goal is to provide an atmosphere of emotional safety and to bear witness to your pain and suffering so you don’t have to go it alone in isolation.

If you are experiencing grief and loss, help is available. Contact the experienced grief therapists at the Bareiter Counseling Center in Charlotte to schedule an appointment. Call us at (704) 334-0524.