Handling grief is just not about someone in your life passing away. Sure most cases of grief is when someone is dealing with a loved one dying either unexpected or when they get older. Grief is about loss. I have seen clients deal with grief issues but struggle with the process because it is not your usual and normalized grief.

Loss of a dream

One may have thought they were on track to become a pro athlete but an injury or another life event became an obstacle of fulfilling that dream. I have seen people struggle with a music career not taking off like they thought and sink into a depression when their record/career flops. Or those that had big dreams for their children to be the next top model or become a doctor only for their child’s strong will to take over taking them in a totally unexpected and sometimes dark path. A dream deferred or dream that never happens can be a hard pill to swallow especially when people expect you to just get over it.

Loss of a relationship

Have you ever tried to get over a friend who you trusted and thought of like a family member turning on you or ending the friendship for no apparent reason? I mean you did everything together and shared things with this person that you have not shared with anyone else. Don’t think that because it wasn’t a romantic relationship that it wasn’t a significant loss or doesn’t impact you now that that person is no longer in your life. When you spend a lot of time with a person being close and sharing intimate details of your life it tends to hurt when you no longer have that confidant.

Don’t struggle alone. Find a therapist to begin processing the grief experienced for the loss. It is normal to hurt when one’s life doesn’t go as planned. It is also normal to feel pain when you lose relationships of various types when that person was a staple in your life. Talk to a trained professional who won’t judge you and creates a safe environment for you to share and finally process your grief.