About Grief

Grief is among life’s most challenging experiences, and it can be tough to overcome the resulting depression and anger. With expert counseling from a dedicated grief specialist, you’ll reach a place where you remember the good times, and the pain becomes more manageable.

Axis Integrated Mental Health provides compassionate grief counseling in Denver, Boulder, and Westminster to help patients manage loss and heal.

Grief Q&A

What is grief?

Grief results from the loss of someone or something that you love.

Grief is often due to bereavement when a family member, friend, partner, or much-loved pet dies. However, losses of many other kinds, from suffering a severe health problem to losing your job, can result in grief.

What does grief feel like?

Grief often unfolds in five stages—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—though each person’s journey is unique.

Denial

People often find it impossible to accept the news about their loss. They might be certain someone’s made a mistake — for example, that it’s a person with the same name who’s died, or the hospital test results confirming a cancer diagnosis are wrong.

Anger

When you realize that your worst fear is genuine and you face the reality of loss, anger will likely flare. You may shout or scream, identify someone you think is responsible, and frequently or violently lose your temper.

Bargaining

Bargaining is the phase of grief where you pray to your God or other higher power to undo what’s happened. People often promise God they’ll do anything, such as sacrificing their own life, to reverse the tragedy.

Depression

Depression descends when bargaining fails, causing overwhelming sadness and despair. It develops because you know the loss is real, and you can’t do anything to change what’s happened. This is often the most persistent and challenging phase of grief.

Acceptance

With the proper support, you can process your grief and reach acceptance. This is where you begin recovering from your loss and finding a way to live your life again.

Everyone’s experience of grief is unique, but most go through these five stages. Your journey might progress in a different order, or some stages may be fleeting while others last for months or years. Some people get stuck in one phase, like depression, and can’t move on.

How does grief counseling help?

Axis Integrated Mental Health’s compassionate grief counselors provide essential support to people struggling with grief. They use techniques like acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

Therapy helps you understand your feelings and express them safely. You learn how to challenge the flawed thinking that makes daily life such a struggle. You might also benefit from anger management or depression therapy if you can’t get through those specific stages of grief.

Counseling may include CBT, ACT, and other therapies to process emotions, regain balance, and find acceptance after loss.

To benefit from specialized grief counseling, call Axis Integrated Mental Health or book an in-person or telehealth appointment using the online scheduling feature today.