It is true that all of us have experienced losses throughout our lives.  We have heard about Kubler-Ross’s “5 stages of grief,” and yet there are times when we do not recognize them as our experience.

There are many models of grief that are used to make sense of the terrible void we feel when we are in the depth of despair.  Loss does not come with a reliable handbook.  There is no timeframe that flows logically from one stage to another.  There is no blueprint that we can use to inform us of our own experience.

Grief does not always apply to death.  There are many different kinds of losses.  Death is obvious and yet too narrow to make sense of this “big hole in our lives” we may experience.

Grief includes death, of course, yet also so many other losses.  Ambiguous Loss refers to a loss where a loved one is physically present yet psychologically absent as in those with neurological brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, and serious mental illnesses.  Ambiguous Loss also refers to when a loved one is physically absent yet psychologically present.  For example, an estranged family member, a death without a body, a disaster that removes everything we have known that now lives in our memories or through pictures.

There are many avenues to managing losses of all kinds.  Coaching encourages the notion that grief is “normal,” your grief makes sense, and there are no time restrictions on the degree and type of grief you are experiencing.  Coaching supports your growth by building your resilience and enabling you to process your experience with the helpful guide of a mentor and a partner on this journey.

Learn how to partner with your loss.  Continue the relationship that has meant so much to you.  Create ways to celebrate your loved one.  Become limitless in your capacity to feel and express love.