Grief & Loss
You Don’t Have to Face Grief Alone
When someone you love dies, people often don’t know what to say. They change the subject, avoid the pain, or move on while you’re still trying to make sense of what’s happened. It can leave you feeling unseen and alone.
Holden Place Therapy gives you space to talk honestly about what’s happened, without needing to protect anyone else from your feelings. You can reflect on the meaning of your loss, tell your story, and begin to find a way to live alongside your grief, not by “getting over it,” but by learning how to carry it with more ease.
When You’re Grieving
Grief can be lonely, not because people don’t care, but because most are ill-prepared to walk alongside us in loss.
You may notice that:
People don’t know what to say.
They’re afraid of your feelings.
They change the subject.
They try to make it “better.”
They avoid talking about death altogether.
After a few weeks, life moves on for everyone else and you’re left feeling isolated.
You stop sharing how you really feel because you don’t want to be a burden or make others uncomfortable.
This is where therapy helps
In our sessions, you’ll have the space and time to reflect deeply on what’s happened to tell your story, explore your emotions, and begin to find meaning within your loss.
This kind of healing can’t happen in quick catch-ups over coffee with friends, where you’re also managing their reactions. Therapy takes that out of the equation. Here, you can focus entirely on you your grief, your growth, and your path forward. This process can take the pressure off your important close relationships.
You don’t have to face grief alone.
What Helps With Grief
Grief is not something to get over or ‘move on’ from. It can be very unhelpful to hear these terms when grieving. Grief is something we learn to live alongside. These ideas aren’t rules, just ways to steady yourself as you find your footing again.
1. Let feelings move through.
Grief has many faces, sadness, anger, relief, guilt, even laughter. None are wrong. Let them come and go in their own time.
2. Talk about it.
Telling the story of what’s happened out loud, sometimes many times over, without having to protect anyone from it can ease the weight.
3. Find small anchors.
A walk, a cup of tea, a photo, a routine, the smallest things can keep you tethered when everything feels unsteady.
4. Rest often.
Loss is exhausting. Give yourself permission to do less, to say no, and to step back from noise and demands.
5. Notice moments of peace.
Grief isn’t all sorrow. There are flickers of calm, love, or even beauty. Let yourself notice them without guilt.
6. Keep connections.
You don’t have to face this alone. Friends, family, a therapist, or a group, the right kind of company matters.
7. Honour the person.
Lighting a candle, visiting a place, cooking their favourite meal, telling a funny story, the smallest rituals can help you stay connected to them in a new way.
8. Expect change.
Grief changes how you see yourself and the world. This doesn’t signify that you’ve lost your identity; rather, it shows you are growing into someone who has experienced profound love and loss. How could this experience not change you? Therapy can help explore the ways you are changing and growing from loss.
9. Allow meaning to emerge.
You don’t have to find silver linings. But, over time, understanding and purpose often begin to grow naturally.
10. Keep going gently.
There’s no finish line. Just the quiet work of living on, carrying love forward in a different form.
