Grief & Loss

Grief Doesn’t Follow a Timeline—But You Don’t Have to Carry It Alone

Grief doesn’t fit neatly into five stages or disappear after a set amount of time. 

Some days, it feels like a heavy weight pressing down on you; other days, it’s a dull ache in the background of your life. 

And just when you think you’re okay, something—a song, a scent, a random memory—hits you like a tidal wave.

Grief isn’t just sadness. It’s disorientation, exhaustion, and love with nowhere to go.

And it’s not just emotional—it’s neurological and physical, too. 

Studies show that grief activates the same brain regions as physical pain, which is why it can feel so overwhelming, numbing, or even physically painful (O’Connor, 2019). It disrupts sleep, focus, and appetite, rewiring how we think, remember, and even experience time.

Here’s the truth: there’s no “right” way to grieve—just the way your mind and body are trying to make sense of loss. 

No matter how long it’s been, no matter what your grief looks like, it is real, and you don’t have to carry it alone.

💡 You are not broken. 

Let’s talk about what healing looks like for you.

What We Support

Acute Grief: When the Loss is Fresh

In the early days of grief, everything can feel surreal. 

Often like you’re disembodied – or even floating.

Your brain is in survival mode, trying to process what just happened. Some people feel numb, others feel everything all at once. 

There’s no single way grief “should” look—and that unpredictability can be disorienting.

🔹 Signs of Acute Grief:

• Feeling like you’re in a fog—time feels strange, and focus is difficult
• Sudden waves of intense sadness, anger, or disbelief
• Sleep disturbances—either too much or not enough
• Feeling like you’re going through the motions but not really present
• Forgetfulness, zoning out, or struggling with simple decisions

💡 If you feel like you’re barely holding on, that’s normal. 

Let’s create space for what you need.

Complicated Grief: When the Pain Won’t Ease

Grief never truly “goes away,” but it should start to feel more manageable over time. 

If months or years pass and you still feel stuck in the pain, unable to move forward, it may be complicated grief—a form of grief that disrupts daily life in a prolonged way (Shear et al., 2011).

🔹 Signs of Complicated Grief:

• Feeling “stuck” in deep sadness, guilt, or regret
• Persistent yearning or preoccupation with the loss
• Avoiding reminders of the person or event—or being unable to focus on anything else
• Emotional numbness or detachment from others
• A sense that life has permanently lost meaning or joy

💡 Grief should change shape, not take over your life. 

Let’s work on moving forward, without forgetting.

Anticipatory Grief: When You’re Losing Someone in Slow Motion

Grief doesn’t always start after a loss. Sometimes, it begins long before—the slow fading of a loved one through illness, dementia, or terminal diagnoses. 

Anticipatory grief is real, and it comes with its own emotional weight (Nielsen et al., 2019).

🔹 Signs of Anticipatory Grief:

• Deep sadness before the loss has happened
• Emotional exhaustion from caretaking or witnessing decline
• Feeling disconnected from your loved one, or overwhelmed by guilt
• Anxiety or dread about what’s coming next
• Grieving the loss of the relationship as it once was

💡 You don’t have to grieve alone—before or after loss. 

Let’s navigate this together.

Grief Beyond Death: Loss Comes in Many Forms

Grief isn’t just about death. 

We grieve relationships, identities, homes, abilities, and dreams. The end of a marriage, the loss of a job, a medical diagnosis that changes your future—all of these losses deserve space to be felt (Harris, 2022).

🔹 Other Forms of Grief We Support:

• Breakups or divorce—losing someone who is still alive
• Career loss—when work was your purpose or security
• Medical or disability-related grief—adjusting to new physical realities
• Estrangement from family—grieving the version of connection you hoped for
• Loss of community or identity—when life changes who you thought you were

💡 Your grief doesn’t have to fit someone else’s definition to be real. 

Let’s give it the space it needs.

Why Grief Support Matters

Grief isn’t about “getting over it”—it’s about learning how to live with loss in a way that doesn’t erase joy, connection, or meaning. It’s about carrying it differently, so it doesn’t carry you.

With the right support, you can:
✅ Understand the shape of your grief and how it’s impacting you
✅ Find ways to hold onto love and memories without staying stuck in pain
✅ Learn emotional regulation tools for grief waves that hit unexpectedly
✅ Process regret, guilt, and unresolved emotions in a safe space
✅ Move forward in a way that honors your loss, without losing yourself

💡 Healing doesn’t mean forgetting. 

Let’s work on carrying grief in a way that doesn’t feel so heavy.

How We Can Help

🧠 Nervous System Regulation for Grief

• Grounding techniques for grief waves that come out of nowhere
• Somatic tools to release tension and emotional overwhelm
• Helping the brain rebuild focus and emotional resilience

💬 Processing Grief in a Safe Space

• Exploring emotions without feeling pressure to “move on”
• Working through regret, guilt, or unfinished conversations
• Holding onto memories in a way that brings comfort, not just pain

🛠 Practical Tools for Navigating Life After Loss

• Adjusting to new routines and identity shifts
• Setting boundaries with people who don’t understand your grief
• Finding ways to reconnect with meaning and purpose

💡 Your grief is yours to carry—but you don’t have to carry it alone. 

Let’s figure out what healing looks like for you.

References

Harris, D. L. (2022). Non-death loss and grief: Context and clinical implications. Routledge.

Nielsen, M. K., Neergaard, M. A., Jensen, A. B., Vedsted, P., & Guldin, M. B. (2019). Preloss grief in family caregivers: A systematic review of measurement, prevalence, and associated factors. Palliative & Supportive Care, 17(2), 213-226.

O’Connor, M. F. (2019). Grief: A brief history of research on how body, mind, and brain adapt. Translational Psychiatry, 9(1), 1-8.

Shear, M. K., Simon, N., Wall, M., et al. (2011). Complicated grief and related bereavement issues for DSM-5. Depression and Anxiety, 28(2), 103-117.