Everyone, at different times in their life and to varying degrees, will experience grief and loss. This is because whenever we form a connection to someone or something, we run the risk of one day losing that person or thing. I first became interested in grief counseling in my undergraduate studies due to a friend’s death. Grief then became a focus of mine because of how much people in my life struggled to talk with me about death, loss, and grief. Oftentimes, folks want to run from grief. However, grief is the natural reaction to going through a loss- it’s the thoughts, feelings, body reactions, and behaviors we experience in order to heal.

Grief is not a passive process we need to just endure. It is an active process that enables us to acknowledge the loss, feel into our pain, and integrate the experience into our lives. It is often said that our grief gets smaller over time. This may be true for some people or situations. However, it more accurately seems like folks learn to grow and heal around their grief, making it appear smaller.