You may be ready to take a courageous first step and choose to seek help with a mental health professional to address your concerns, fears, and worries. The lingering effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic may be triggering a significant and prolonged grief experience. The uncertainty of each day may be causing increased anxiety, sadness, irritability, and uneasiness.
Autumn represents a time to let go and make space for growth. This may be challenging if we are holding on to our grief. Grief, by definition, is the normal and natural emotional response to loss or change in a relationship. Loss of any type, changes our daily routines and leaves us with voids in our lives. If Covid-19 has brought about anything, it has been changes to routine. From where we work to how we celebrate holidays, grief may be the underlying experience as we struggle to accept permanent changes.
Often times, we will seek closure to help heal our grief. The challenge of closure is that it creates an idea that grief is only resolved if we are able to permanently stop all negative thoughts and emotions associated with our loss. This is a mighty task and one that may be impossible. In contrast, the concept of completion may be the key to resolving our grief. Completion allows us to seek a balance between grief and the possibility of joy. Completing grief does not mean we have to cease having negative feelings about our loss to feel better, it means we can feel sadness while also making room for growth. Completing grief helps us accept our loss by giving ourselves permission to simultaneously feel both negative and positive emotions about our loss.
If you are looking for extra support and guidance through a challenging situation or are ready to move in a new direction, completing your grief may be the path to help you, and we are here to help.
Trish Magnotta, MSW, LSW, LCSW is a Clinical Social Worker and Certified Grief Recovery Counselor and owner of Monmouth Integrative Counseling Services, LLC in Manasquan, NJ. Trish has worked in mental health for over 10 years. For more information call 732.231.5170 or contact us at www.monmouthics.com
