Counselor’s Corner

Coping with Grief and Loss: Grief is a natural response to loss.  It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away and can at times, be overwhelming. Grief includes many emotions such anger, sadness, shock, and disbelief. Grief can even disrupt your physical health causing some people to have difficulty sleeping, eating, or thinking straight. 

Coping with grief is one of life’s greatest challenges and it is not limited to losing a loved one, but can also include many scenarios such as: divorce or a relationship ending, loss of health, a job, financial stability, death of a pet, loss of a friendship, moving, loss of a dream, and loss of safety after a natural disaster or other devastating event (house burn down for example).  These are just a few of the reasons one may be experiencing grief; there are many more. 

Whatever your loss is, it is personal to you, so don’t feel ashamed or guilty for feeling the way you do.     If something/someone is significant to you, then it will hurt when you no longer have them/it. There’s no right or wrong way to grief, or a normal time table as to how long it will last. Whatever the cause may be, there are healthy ways to cope, and in time, things should get easier. 

We will be offering a support group (or groups if the number of responses is high) for our students next semester, led by Calm Waters, a group based out of OKC.  These groups will take place during the school day.  Often seeking out support can help you in the grieving process. You can sign up for a group here: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdCV8opyJZyGfhOFphUOz73quAcdUAMIub7UL-GHdCKI2xPGQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Other ways to take care of yourself during a hard time is to acknowledge that your pain is normal, take care of yourself physically, talk to people who love you and that you trust, journal, don’t isolate yourself,  try to get enough sleep, and seek out professional help if your feelings linger. 

“Grief never ends. But it changes.  It’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor lack of faith. It’s the price of love.”