There is no right way to grieve.
Grief can affect us in many different ways.
It can follow the death of someone we love, but we can also experience grief following the loss of a relationship, our health, independence, a job, a pet, or the life we thought we were going to have.
Some days may feel manageable. Others may feel incredibly difficult.
There is no timetable for grief, and you don’t have to simply “get over it.”
At The Wing Project, bereavement counselling offers you a safe, compassionate and confidential space to talk about your loss and explore what your grief means to you.
Tonkin’s Model of Grief
One of the ideas I often explore when talking about grief is Tonkin’s Model – Growing Around Grief.
Rather than suggesting that grief gradually becomes smaller or eventually disappears, Tonkin’s Model offers a different way of looking at it.
Your grief may stay the same size, but your life can begin to grow around it.
In the beginning, grief can feel as though it fills almost every part of your life.
Over time, new experiences, relationships, memories, routines and moments of happiness can begin to grow around that grief.
The loss hasn’t disappeared.
The person you loved hasn’t become less important.
You’ve simply begun to build more life around the space that your grief occupies.
And even years later, there may be moments when that grief suddenly feels enormous again.
That’s okay.
Bereavement Counselling
Counselling isn’t about helping you forget someone or encouraging you to “move on.”
It’s about giving you somewhere to talk honestly about your loss, remember the person who mattered to you, understand your emotions and begin finding ways to live alongside your grief.
You can talk.
You can cry.
You can laugh about memories.
You can be angry.
You can even say that you don’t know how you feel.
There is no correct way to grieve.
You don’t have to carry it alone.
If you’re experiencing bereavement, grief or loss, you’re welcome to get in touch with The Wing Project.
I offer a FREE 20-minute telephone or online consultation, giving you the opportunity to talk about what you’re experiencing and decide whether counselling feels right for you.
Your grief is part of your story.
It doesn’t have to become your whole story.
