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Why Does Grief Become Complicated?

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Grief can become complicated for many reasons, and everyone’s experience is unique. You may have experienced multiple or cumulative bereavements and losses, which has left you feeling overwhelmed. It might be that mental health conditions you were experiencing before the bereavement, like depression or anxiety, are exacerbating your grief, making it harder to cope and process the bereavement. â€‹Your relationship with the person who has died might have been strained, abusive or unfinished, which can leave you with feelings that are complicating your grief. It might be that the death was sudden or unexpected, even if not traumatic in nature, which can leave you struggling to come to terms with what happened. â€‹â€‹

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What Does Complicated Grief Feel like?

 

If you’re experiencing complex or complicated grief, you might feel an intense, ongoing yearning for the person who has died, or find it hard to accept the loss. It may feel like your thoughts are stuck on their death, making it difficult to focus on anything else. You might find yourself avoiding reminders of them, or feel unable to stop thinking about them. Life can start to feel distant, with little interest in things you once enjoyed or in your relationships. It’s also common to feel unresolved anger, guilt, or regret that won’t go away.

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Therapy for Complicated Grief

 

Grieving for longer or in a more intense way doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you—it simply means your grief needs space and attention.

 

There is no timeline for grief, but complicated grief can make you feel like you’re stuck, unable to move forward. Through therapy, my aim is to help you begin to process your loss in a way that feels manageable, step by step.

This doesn’t mean forgetting the person you’ve lost or ‘moving on’ from the grief itself. Instead, it means learning how to live with the loss, carrying the memory of your loved one while still finding a way to move forward with your own life.

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Arts Psychotherapies and Complicated Grief 

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Dramatherapy can be particularly effective for complex and complicated grief, where emotions can feel tangled or stuck. Creative approaches offer a non-verbal way to express difficult feelings such as guilt, regret, or anger, which may be hard to articulate with words alone. Through stories, characters, and symbolic acts, dramatherapy helps you safely explore these deep emotions at your own pace, providing distance from overwhelming feelings. This allows for gentle processing of grief, reconnecting mind and body, and opening up new ways to understand your loss and move forward in a supported, manageable way. â€‹

Therapy for Complicated Grief.

 

​​​Grief is a deeply personal yet natural process. For most people, grief becomes less intense over time and people find ways to slowly adjust to life without their loved ones. For some people, intense grief can last for many months or years. Whilst there is no timeline for grief, complicated grief can feel complex and overwhelming. Complicated grief refers to a prolonged and intense form of grief that doesn’t follow the typical path of mourning. It can make you feel as though life has come to a standstill, and moving forward feels impossible.​ Complicated grief doesn't mean you're grieving 'wrong' but you and your grief may need some support. â€‹â€‹

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Prolonged Grief Disorder  

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Prolonged Grief Disorder describes intense and overwhelming grief that lasts many months or even years, making it hard to manage daily life. While grief is a natural process, research shows that for some, the intensity of prolonged grief can make it hard to move forward without support.

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There is ongoing debate about whether describing grief as a 'disorder' is helpful, and whether grief should be treated as a mental health condition. In the UK, it’s not typically diagnosed, but understanding prolonged grief helps bereavement services and specialists offer compassionate and tailored support to those who feel stuck in or overwhelmed by their grief.

Image by Art Lasovsky

Complicated grief can feel overwhelming and isolating, but you don’t have to go through this on your own. Whether your bereavement happened recently or many years ago, I am here to support you. 

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Therapy for complicated grief can often be a longer-term process. Each session is focused on providing the care and support you need as we work through the unique challenges of your grief together, at your pace.

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Please get in touch if you would like to arrange support with your grief journey â€‹or book a free 15-minute introductory chat at a time to suit you. You can expect a warm, non-judgmental, professional, and down-to-earth welcome. â€‹â€‹I look forward to accompanying you on your journey.

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