Grief
in Lexington, Richmond & Frankfort KY
What is Grief?
Grief is the emotional reaction to a major loss of someone or something. It is most often an unhappy and painful emotion. The three most common types of grief are anticipatory grief, normal grief and complicated grief. Anticipatory grief may occur when a death or loss is expected. Normal grief begins after a death or loss occurs. Complicate grief may induce a minimal grief reaction or a chronic grief reaction.
Signs & Symptoms
Grief typically occurs in five stages:
- Denial, disbelief, and numbness
- Anger and blaming others
- Bargaining
- Depressed mood, sadness, and crying
- Acceptance and coming to terms
In most instances, grief symptoms will occur less often and will feel less severe as time passes. Recovery does not happen in a set period of time. For most bereaved people having experiencing grief, symptoms lessen between 6 months and 2 years after the loss. Symptoms of grief can vary from person to person, but the most common symptoms include:
For anticipatory grief:
- Depression.
- Feeling a greater than usual concern for the dying person.
- Imagining what the loved one's death will be like.
- Getting ready emotionally for what will happen after the death.
For normal grief:
- Emotional numbness, shock, disbelief, or denial.
- Anxiety over being separated from the loved one.
- Distress that leads to crying; sighing; having dreams, illusions, and hallucinations of the deceased; and looking for places or things that were shared with the deceased.
- Anger.
- Periods of sadness, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, extreme tiredness, guilt, and loss of interest in life.
For complicated grief:
- Minimal grief reaction: A grief pattern in which the person has no, or only a few, signs of distress or problems that occur with other types of grief.
- Chronic grief: A grief pattern in which the symptoms of common grief last for a much longer time than usual. These symptoms are a lot like ones that occur with major depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Diagnosis & Treatment Options
Typically, normal grief does not need to be treated. Complicated grief may be treated with different types of psychotherapy, including complicated grief treatment or cognitive behavioral therapy. Complicated grief treatment has three phases that include talking about the loss and setting goal toward recovery, retelling the story of the death, and reevaluating progress made towards recovery to make future plans. Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches skills to change attitudes and behaviors associated with grief.
There Is Hope!
Grief should not be prevented because it is a healthy response to loss. Instead, it should be respected. Those who are grieving should have support to help them through the process. Call our office or your healthcare provider if you cannot deal with grief, you become very depressed, or you have long-term depression that interferes with your daily life. For more information, visit the links below:
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Lexington, KY
Darby Creek Location
501 Darby Creek Road
Suite 11
Lexington KY, 40509
Phone:
859-338-0466
Fax:
859-294-0802
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- Darby Creek Lexington, KY 501 Darby Creek Road, Lexington, KY, United States
- Duval Street Location Lexington, KY 1092 Duval Street, Lexington, KY, United States
- Frankfort, KY 105 Diagnostic Dr, Frankfort, KY 40601, United States
- 1043 Center Dr, Richmond, KY 40475, United States 1043 Center Dr, Richmond, KY 40475, United States
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Substance use is a growing health concern. 47.7 million Americans reported the use of illegal substances according to a study conducted in 2023 by The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics. A Substance Use Disorder (SUD), defined by The American Psychiatric Association, is ‘a complex condition in which there is uncontrolled use of a substance despite harmful consequences.’ The American Psychiatric Association recognizes that someone who has a SUD has an intense urge to engage in any of the listed substances - alcohol, tobacco, or psychoactive substances that impact daily functioning, interpersonal relationships, and overall health. Another term well known for SUD is addiction. There is no single cause for a SUD but rather, a combination of factors can contribute to its development. Self-medication, genetics, peer pressure, curiosity, performance enhancement, and medical use turned misuse can all lead to someone engaging in problem use with substances and even addiction. Another study conducted in 2023 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, showed that 70% of people who sought out treatment for substance abuse/misuse reported improvements to their overall health and functioning within the first year of treatment. There are several available options for treatment, including outpatient care, intensive outpatient care, and in-patient care treatment. It is also important to have a collaborative approach when it comes to treatment for a SUD to have the best outcome, which can include medication management, individual therapy, group therapy, peer support, AA/NA meetings, sponsor, and a healthy support system within interpersonal relationships. It's important to remember that addiction is not a moral failing, it's a complex medical condition that can affect anyone. Compassion, understanding, and proper treatment are essential to recovery and can lead to successful outcomes. Some treatment modalities that have shown success in therapy when treating SUD include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Contingency Management (CM), Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) and Motivational Interviewing (MI), as well as a facilitated 12 step program and a trauma focused lens. Whether you're concerned about your own substance use or worried about a loved one, help is available and healing is possible! Call our office at 859.338.0466 to schedule an appointment to work with one of our providers to start your healing journey to recovery. Our current offices are located in Lexington, Frankfort, and Richmond, KY. We have been trusted mental health professionals in Central Kentucky for over 22 years! Articles and Resources: https://drugabusestatistics.org/ https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6175215/ https://www.pyramid-healthcare.com/blog/2019/02/12/self-medication-and-addiction/ https://americanaddictioncenters.org/therapy-treatment
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What is therapy?
Therapy is more long-term than counseling and focuses on a broader range of issues. The underlying principle is that a person's patterns of thinking and unconscious awareness affect the way that person interacts with the world. The goal is to uncover those patterns and become aware of their effect and then learn new, healthier ways to think and interact.
