To Process Grief, Talk About It

Most of us have experienced the painstaking, heart-wrenching feeling of grief. Whether you lost a loved one, your home, a job, or anything that you hold dear and near to your heart-- grief can hit you like a nuclear bomb. Resident psychotherapist and grief expert, Nicky Albert, says that grief is “an emotional response to loss where one must reorganize their senses, attitude, or approach to living a new life.”

Indeed, life is never the same when we experience such a tragic loss. Grief often comes with a profound sense of sadness, loss of appetite, and inability to complete simple tasks like showering or tidying up. It feels like it will last forever.

The good news? It doesn’t last forever.

Nicky explained, “It varies from person to person, but the overwhelming sense of sadness typically begins to subside after six weeks.” There is even a way to help process and overcome grief faster: through community.

“Grief cannot be processed in isolation. When we are alone, we tend to attach and freeze. Everything stays solid and frozen. When we talk, we process our feelings, and things start to flow like mountain ice that melts into a river.”

The Jewish practice of sitting Shiva helps with exactly this. Shiva is a period of seven days where friends and family come together to discuss the loss and embrace the comfort of others.

Alternatively, group therapy and counseling have the same effect. Attending a grief counseling group gives one the opportunity to express themselves in a compassionate environment. “Sometimes the person feels embarrassed to express their feelings to their friends and family. The range of emotions can vary widely, from depression to even anger. A counseling group is a safe space to discuss and process those emotions.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing grief, and needs a community to process their feelings, we encourage you to join our grief counseling group. The group is held every other Wednesday from 6-8pm and is run by master therapists, like Nicky.

To learn more about our counseling services, click here.