While grief is widely recognized in our culture by the death of a close family member, the experience of grief is not necessarily limited to that experience. In terms of grief, what I'm referring to here is a profound loss that goes unrecognized because it is not understood or minimized by those around us. When others are not able to appreciate the magnitude of our loss, it can leave us feeling isolated and at times even ashamed for feeling the way we do.

While certainly not an exhaustive list, some examples of unrecognized grief might be: the loss of a family member through addiction,  a miscarriage or abortion, a body that doesn't look or act the same as it did before illness, the loss of a pet, the inability to bear your own child, or even the loss of a 'typical' child for parents who discover that their child has developmental delays.

People can also experience unacknowledged grief when a loved one has Alzheimers disease, following a brain injury, and even after a divorce. In these circumstances the person may still be physically available, but you can no longer connect to them the way you used to.

Any loss can irrevocably change your path and take you from the life you thought you were meant to live. I can understand the complexity of your grief, decrease feelings of loneliness, validate your pain, and help you heal.