Walking the Path of Mourning with a Grief Therapist in Texas

Our lives have seasons, complex moments that aren’t always easy to unravel, but that may have a dominant theme. We all experience grief in its various shades, whether through bereavement and loss of a loved one, the irretrievable breakdown of significant relationships, or a long-cherished dream that doesn’t come true. Grief deeply impacts our hearts, leaving us sorrowful in the wake of the loss.

The Teacher in Ecclesiastes says that,

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance – Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, NIV

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While grief can be debilitating, it’s part of the process of making sense of the loss encountered and learning how to live with that loss. As you walk the path of grief, you can seek out support in the form of a professional, like a grief therapist in Texas. You don’t have to walk alone in your time of crisis.

Grief and Us

Grief is an experience we all must reckon with at one point or another in our lives. When you experience loss, the healthy way to respond is to deal with the myriad thoughts and emotions that come up. Each person has their own way of facing the difficult emotions that loss brings. The important task is to face the pain, confusion, sadness, anger, relief, regrets, joys, and other emotions and thoughts that accompany the loss.

Just as each person’s journey with grief is unique due to each person’s unique relationship with who or what is lost, the impact of that grief is also different. This can lead to feeling that you’re not grieving “correctly” because you’re not feeling certain things or acting in a particular way.

Emotionally, grief can bring about feelings of emptiness, sadness, pain, anxiety, and fear about the future. You could start thinking about what your life will be like without your loved one, or ponder your mortality. Questions like “What if?”, along with guilt and regret, may also strike you. Grief can lead you to experience mood swings, moving between a variety of different emotions.

Grief can also affect your body in different ways. You may struggle with your appetite or find it greatly increased, particularly for comfort foods. It can also disrupt your sleep patterns, leaving you either sleeping excessively or not getting enough sleep. This can result in daytime fatigue, which hinders your ability to carry out your daily tasks. Grief can even weaken your immune system, as well as manifest as pain in the form of headaches, muscle tension, and more.

Not only does grief affect you emotionally and physically, but mentally as well. The cognitive impact of grief can make it harder to concentrate or recall important details. It can feel harder to organize and orient yourself well. You may also find yourself feeling confused, or dwelling on the loss, turning it over and over again in your mind.

As you grieve, you may also start withdrawing socially and feeling isolated from other people, even when you have people around you. Grieving can make it harder to connect with others, and when people are grieving, it can make it harder to communicate effectively, which can lead to strained relationships with those around you. The feelings of loneliness and isolation can be intensified if the loss has transitioned you into a different role with new dynamics to navigate.

Lastly, grief can also affect you spiritually. Loss raises hard questions about the Lord’s love and presence, and it can bring about a spiritual crisis. Loss may also lead you to question what you thought you knew about life’s meaning, your identity, and purpose. Having said this, loss and the resultant grief can also cause you to cling tighter to the Lord, leaning on Him for strength and comfort, and finding renewed purpose in Him.

Grief affects people differently, and each person’s experience is their own. You may find that how you grieve changes over the years, and this can be the result of maturity and growth in resilience, a deeper awareness of what loss means, and the nature of the loss. All of these factors can impact your grief, its intensity, and its effects.

How a Grief Therapist in Texas Can Help You

As you’re processing your grief, you could go it alone, or you could consider finding support from loved ones or a professional like a grief therapist in Texas. There are some specific ways that a grief therapist in Texas can help you cope with grief and loss.

Firstly, a grief therapist can help you understand grief better. They can educate you about the grieving process so you can place your own experience in a helpful context and framework. Sometimes we need help to know that what we feel and are experiencing is valid and legitimate.

Grief therapists, also known as grief counselors or bereavement therapists, can also help you with processing the emotions that come up in the wake of loss. Feelings like anger, guilt, relief, sadness, regret, or anxiety can be confusing or overwhelming, and your therapist can walk with you to understand and come to terms with them. If the loss was traumatic, a therapist can help you cope with that trauma and implement effective strategies.

Your therapist also walks with you as you rebuild your identity and sense of purpose. A grief therapist can help you as you explore your goals, values, and beliefs in light of the loss. They can stand in the gap for you as you try to make sense of and navigate complicated relationships with loved ones, so that you can improve those relationships.

Lastly, your therapist can also help with managing mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety that may arise or worsen during the grieving process.

The benefits of seeing a grief therapist in Texas include the fact that they have specialized training and experience to help you cope with grief.

They approach the situation objectively, creating emotional safety for you to express what you truly think and feel, which can be difficult when loved ones are also walking through their own unique grief. Your therapist also doesn’t have any expectations or a bias toward what you ought to feel or how you should grieve, which frees you to be yourself.

Your grief therapist can also adapt their approach to meet your needs based on your specific situation and story. Using evidence-based therapies such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, they can provide you with ongoing support and guidance as you grieve. These and other therapies help you identify unhelpful patterns and substitute them for coping strategies that promote your well-being.

When you’re dealing with overwhelming and debilitating grief, or if you’re experiencing complex or traumatic grief that makes it hard for you to function, a grief therapist is better equipped to walk alongside you than a loved one. You can be intentional about your healing and working through your grief by reaching out and connecting with a grief therapist.

Seeking Help from a Christian Grief Therapist

Grief is an experience that we all go through at some point in our lives. Grief can be overwhelming, a maze that’s hard to navigate and emerge from, but you don’t have to go through it by yourself.

If you’re experiencing complicated grief, which often involves intense emotions, and if you’re having difficulty functioning, with grief affecting your ability to handle work, relationships, and other responsibilities, seek professional help from a grief therapist in Texas.

Pursuing therapy isn’t a sign of weakness, but a wise acknowledgement of your limitations, and a recognition of the benefits of professional help. Whether through cognitive behavioral therapy, narrative therapy, or mindfulness therapies, your grief therapist in Texas can help you cope better with grief, rediscover meaning, and guide you to live well in the present. Contact us today at Texas Christian Counseling to learn more and to schedule an appointment.