By the age of forty, most people have experienced some form of loss at least fifteen times. The journey takes courage. Grief is not an easy path to negotiate and simply taking the next step forward is often fraught with overwhelming feelings. Is recovery from loss possible? Yes – although the definition of recovery may need some explanation.

The reality is that loss impacts our lives in multiple ways.

After a significant loss your life will never be the same. Ever. Sometimes we try desperately to cling to the past, the way things were before the loss. But we need to learn to grieve. Through that process, we can learn to accept the loss. Often the path is enveloped in fog and you are unable to decipher anything but grey-ness in the swirling mist. But there is a path.

Allow yourself the freedom to grieve.

When Elizabeth Kubler Ross wrote about the stages of dying, she showed us there was cycle in grieving. But the thing is, with grieving you sometimes experience the five stages in a repetitive cycle – and sometimes several times in one day. Moving from denial to acceptance over and over again can be emotionally draining. Asking for help is a healthy step forward, and sometimes seeking professional help is a way to navigate the unknown path.

Marlayne Whitlock, M.A., LAPC

mwhitlock@ GROWcounseling.com