No one is free from experiencing loss in life, whether it’s a loved one, a cherished pet, your marriage, health, a job or business. Though it is a part of life, some experiences of loss cause a lot of pain. It can even stop you from pursuing your life aspirations. The challenge with loss is letting go and moving forward, even when you feel you have already grieved long enough. If your grief is of the complicated variety, it can even begin to develop into depression. Freeing yourself from your grief may not be easy without professional help.

When Grief Lingers

When you lose someone or something that means so much to you or brings you great joy, the grief you experience may hit without warning and last longer than it needs to. It is natural to grieve, but months or years of intense grieving can leave you feeling exhausted and without hope. Complicated grief can do that to you.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the feelings of loss with “complicated grief” or “persistent complex bereavement disorder” can be “debilitating and don’t improve even after time passes.” The grief can grip you for a long time, resulting in it being difficult for you to accept your loss, heal, pick up the pieces, and bounce back without guilt, fear, or extreme sadness.

Signs Your Grief Is Not Going Away

Though grief and loss are difficult, it should not take center stage for the rest of your life. Usually, losing someone you love is associated with this kind of grief. Know that complicated grief can keep you stuck in the past or in a state of perpetual mourning. Caring family and friends may continue to support you but may feel at a loss on how to effectively help you move through your grief. When grief becomes complicated and all-encompassing professional assistance is often needed.

When should you call in a counselor? HelpGuide.org shares some of these signs to watch out for:

• Intense longing and yearning for the deceased
• Intrusive thoughts or images of your loved one
• Denial of the death or sense of disbelief
• Imagining that your loved one is alive
• Searching for the person in familiar places
• Avoiding things that remind you of your loved one
• Extreme anger or bitterness over the loss
• Feeling that life is empty or meaningless

Is it Possible to Let Go of Grief?

Overcoming grief may not be easy but living with the loss is possible. Going through the process is healing and healthy. You can’t avoid that phase in your life as you travel the road to healing. The pain may leave you thinking that healing isn’t possible, but it is.

Bereavement, accepting your loss, healing, and letting go may be an agonizingly slow process, but know that there is a reward for those who wait, and be comforted by the knowledge that it is possible to mourn your loss while moving forward.

Help Yourself by Being Helped

Prevent yourself from sinking deeper into complicated grief and depression by being proactive. Untreated, this kind of grief can lead to weighty emotional damage, serious health concerns, and unrealized dreams.

Support matters when it comes to overcoming grief. It can feel like a roller coaster ride, and you may need someone to help you through. Look no farther than a licensed counselor/therapist independently contracted with Carolina Counseling Services — Pittsboro, NC. A caring therapist can give you the assistance you need and can help you look forward with hope.

Related Articles:

• The First Steps to Overcoming Grief and Loss
• Positively Transforming Your Life after Grief and Loss
• Remembering Loss Without the Heaviness of Grief