You’ve experienced a recent loss, and it feels like it shouldn’t bother you this much, but you can’t help that it does. You feel like a shell of the person that used to be there before your loss. 

Your struggling to cope after a “recent”:

• Death of a loved one or death of an estranged family member

• Life changing diagnosis of you or a loved one, such as a terminal illness or a degenerative diagnosis. 

• Anticipatory grief- grief around End of Life or upcoming anniversaries, holidays or birthdays to name a few. 

• Loss or change of your job

• Move to another city/state/country

• Breakup/Divorce

• Loss of your home

• Loss of Normalcy due to changes including caregiving responsibilities 

Because of your loss, you have noticed you are struggling:

Your sleep quality has declined.

You are sleeping more, struggling to fall asleep or struggling to stay asleep. You feel tired, all the time. 

Your appetite has changed.

You either comfort eat and give in to your cravings or barely have an appetite. 

Your mood isn’t what you’re comfortable with.

Maybe you are more irritable, and you are snapping at others more than normal. Maybe your anxiety or feelings of depression make it hard for you to find the motivation to get out of bed, take showers, make meals or get out the door. 

You’ve lost your ability to concentrate or focus.

Your thoughts are consumed with ruminating on the memories and/or sequence of events surrounding your loss. You find yourself staring off into the horizon, and spend alot of time in your head thinking or feeling numb.

You’ve had an existential crisis or a loss of identity.

You don’t know what this loss says about you, about your spiritual beliefs, about your purpose in this world, but you know you’re different, but you haven’t quite made peace with it. If you’ve lost both parents, it feels like you are on your own. If you lost a child, you haven’t figured out if you tell people if you are still a parent or how you answer “how many children do you have?” 

There is some guilt or shame.

You might have survivor’s guilt or feel like somehow it’s your fault they died. If you could have somehow done something different, this loss could have been avoided.  

Your grief feels so heavy, it’s hard to believe you will ever feel better again. You can’t remember the last time you felt joy and were able to sustain it. 

Your grief has made it hard to focus and engage with others. In fact, it makes you feel more alone and uncertain how to even feel supported. You’re struggling at completing your work or home responsibilities. Your relationships feel disconnected, distant or unfulfilling.