Psychotherapy & Counselling Centre Phone: (03) 354 8045 info@talkingtherapy.co.nz

Psychotherapy & Counselling Centre
Phone: (03) 354 8045
info@talkingtherapy.co.nz

Click here to make an appointment or to enquire about our services

When Grief Gets Physical: dealing with physical grief symptoms

There is simply no way to anticipate what grief feels like. It is one of those experiences that you can describe to someone, but it is impossible to really understand it until you are forced to live with it. Of all the unimaginable aspects of grief, there is one thing we hear people say time and again that they really didn’t expect: physical grief symptoms.

They might not have been fully able to appreciate the emotional rollercoaster of grief until they were on it, but they at least had a sense it was part of the process. The physical stuff is something many people tell us they simply didn’t know to expect until it hit them like a ton of bricks.

Read more: When Grief Gets Physical: dealing with physical grief symptoms

Grieving the Loss of a Child

"it feels totally wrong, unnatural, against the proper order of things, that I should stand at the coffin of my child; it is meant to be the other way around – that our children bury us."

Whether it is the death of their baby, or of a young child, or even of an adult child, this is what every parent says. The death of a child is the most devastating loss a parent can experience.

Read more: Grieving the Loss of a Child

Loss of landmarks and the impact of this on our sense of self

Landmarks are important in our lives as we find our way around using them. 

Often, when we know an area very well, we do not have to think about which corner to turn because the landmarks are so strongly in our memory banks.  We know where we are and feel secure because of that. Yet here in Christchurch, especially in the CBD, landmarks have disappeared as the demolition continues. With more than 900 buildings already down or destined for demolition, the face of Christchurch bears little resemblance to what it did a year ago. Only twenty per cent of the CBD is likely to be left standing.

Read more: Loss of landmarks and the impact of this on our sense of self

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