Grief and loss can become more difficult during the holiday season. The memories of past holiday gatherings, photos, and videos are great to reflect on but may also bring up painful emotions. This blog post will discuss grief and loss during the holidays and provide insights from a grief counselor near Milwaukee, WI.
Link Between Holidays and Memories
Past holidays may contain many different memories that connect to other neural networks in the mind. These memories can be charged with emotions from over the years. When this time of the year comes around, the smells and tastes of food, decorations, and songs can connect to these many different neural networks that link to both positive and negative emotions. Because of this link, wecan re-experience past events and memories vividly as if they just occurred. This ties directly to the grief and loss process because it’s almost like a reset as the emotional pain restarts.
Does the Grief Pain Ever Fade?
Every person’s experience with grief and loss is different. Yes, there are the typical five stages of grief that are often referred to, which you can read more about by following this link here. However, everyone will move at their own pace through the grief and loss process.
When anniversaries or times of the year, such as holidays arise, these events can trigger neural associations related to memories, thus leading to renewed grief and loss in someone’s life. Some people find the pain of grief and loss fades with time. Others describe it as an ebb-and-flow process that comes and goes throughout life. Yours will be unique to you.
Grief Counseling Can Help
Despite the natural components of grief and loss, sometimes this process begins to interfere with different areas of your life. This can result in problematic relationships, isolation or withdrawal from others, and fluctuating moods. Grief counseling can help support you during this process as well as heal from the loss, trauma, and negative thoughts related to the event.
Extra Note from a Grief Counselor Near Milwaukee, WI
Grief is a deeply emotional and personal experience. It is very natural to experience grief when you lose someone or something close in your life. Because of this, grief is not always something we need counseling for. Only if it starts interfering with other areas of your life and continues to be a visceral emotional experience, not just sorrow or longing, after a prolonged period of time can counseling be helpful.
Find Grief Counseling Near Me
If grief counseling near you is something that could help, I can be reached at 720.295.6703 or by submitting an online form by clicking on the link here. I have years of experience working with grief in the many different forms it may arise. Currently, I offer in-person sessions on the weekends for those living near Southern Milwaukee, WI and online counseling sessions for those who live throughout both Wisconsin and Colorado. I look forward to hearing from you.
