Grief Can Hit You Like A Wave. Can You Relate to This?
“Do you feel numb one day and overwhelmed the next?”
Grief doesn’t come in a straight line—it hits differently every day. This unpredictability can be exhausting, leaving you unsure how to manage your emotions or even explain them to others. You might feel guilty for feeling okay one day or frustrated when tears come at the most inconvenient moments.
“Are you carrying the weight for everyone else while feeling broken inside?”
You may be the one others rely on, while inside you feel unseen, fragile, or emotionally depleted. Trying to hold it all together can leave you drained, disconnected, and isolated. Friends and family may not fully understand your pain, or they may unintentionally minimize it with phrases like “be strong” or “move on.”
“Are you grieving a future you thought you’d have and can’t stop thinking about what should have been?”
You might be grieving dreams, relationships, or milestones that didn’t happen. You may find yourself replaying “what could have been,” questioning decisions, or mourning opportunities that were lost. This kind of grief can feel endless, leaving you stuck in regret, disappointment, and longing for a life that didn’t unfold as you imagined.
If this resonates...
... you don’t need to keep pushing down your pain or pretending you’re okay for everyone else’s sake.
You need space where your grief — in whatever form it takes — is welcomed, not rushed.
You need support that helps you process loss, honour your story, and begin to gently rebuild your life.
How Grief Counselling Can Help
Grief counselling provides a compassionate and safe space to explore the many ways loss shows up in life, whether it’s the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, infertility, unmet hopes, or grieving the past you didn’t get. Together, we’ll work through your unique experience of grief and help you find a path forward at your own pace.
Through evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and trauma-informed care, you’ll learn to:
- Understand and express your emotions without judgment.
- Develop healthy coping strategies for overwhelming days.
- Release guilt, shame, or “shoulds” that keep you stuck.
- Reconnect with hope and meaning as you carry your grief with you.
Grief counselling doesn’t erase the pain, but it can help you feel less alone and more supported as you move through it.
What Research Shows About Grief
Research shows that unprocessed grief can impact both mental and physical health, contributing to anxiety, depression, and even physical symptoms like fatigue or illness. Women, in particular, often feel pressure to “stay strong” for others, which can delay their own healing.
Counselling gives you the opportunity to slow down, release the pressure of holding it all together, and focus on your own healing. By acknowledging your grief, whether it’s loss through death, the loss of dreams, or the loss of what should have been, you create space for emotional recovery and resilience to grow.
Understanding Grief
Grief isn’t just about losing someone you love, it can also be about losing the life you hoped for, or mourning the pain of a past that wasn’t what it should have been. It doesn’t follow a straight line or a set timeline, and it often comes in waves.
In therapy, we don’t force a quick fix. Instead, we explore your unique story of loss, your relationships, your dreams, and what healing can look like for you. With gentle guidance and practical tools, you can learn to carry your grief in a way that feels lighter and more manageable, while still honoring what was lost.
Hope And Support Are Closer Than You Think
Grief counselling can help you find comfort, healing, and hope as you navigate life after loss. If you’re in Red Deer or Central Alberta, I offer in-person sessions where you’ll be met with compassion, understanding, and tools to support you in this difficult season.
If distance or convenience is a concern, I also provide online therapy across Alberta, so you can access support from the comfort of your own home.
Take the next step today. Book your appointment and begin your journey toward healing and renewal.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. I believe you don't 'get over' profound loss, you learn how to carry it. The goal isn't to forget the person or event, but to help you integrate the loss into your life story. We work to soften the sharpest edges of your pain, process the difficult emotions like guilt and anger, and help you find a new, meaningful life that includes the memory of what was lost.
There is no normal timeline for grief. Whether your loss was last month or five years ago, your pain is valid. Counselling is completely tailored to your pace. Some clients come for a few months to process the initial shock, while others stay longer to address deep, complicated grief. We focus on helping you find resilience and meaning at your unique pace, not on hitting an arbitrary deadline.
Yes. Traumatic and complicated grief require specialized, compassionate care. I use advanced, evidence-based methods (like ART and IFS) to process the specific trauma related to the death, such as intrusive images or persistent fear. We create a safe space to process the intense, complex feelings like guilt, anger, or confusion that are common with sudden or difficult losses.
Absolutely. Any profound shift in your life that results in loss is valid grief. This is often called 'disenfranchised grief,' which means the loss isn't fully recognized by society. Whether you've lost a pet, a career, a relationship, or your sense of self due to chronic illness, your feelings are real, and this is the right place to get support.
