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When we talk about grief and trauma, it’s important to recognize that they often show up in similar ways, and one can deeply affect the other. Grief, as you know, is the pain and loss that comes when something—or someone—important to you is no longer there. Trauma, on the other hand, is the deep, often overwhelming emotional response to an event that shatters your sense of safety, trust, or stability. But here’s the thing: the impact of both can feel almost identical in how they show up in your body and your mind. When we experience trauma, it doesn’t just stay in the past. It has a way of continuing to live with us, often in ways we can’t always control or even understand. The same is true with grief—it doesn’t just happen and then go away. It lingers, often in unexpected ways, and can resurface in moments that catch us off guard. It can show up in physical symptoms, like tension, exhaustion, or even aches and pains. Emotionally, you might feel numb, disconnected, or flooded with intense feelings that come in waves. Mentally, it can leave you feeling scattered, forgetful, or like you’re just not quite yourself.
What happens when grief and trauma overlap is that they feed off each other. Trauma can make the grief feel even more intense because it might shake your sense of safety, leaving you feeling vulnerable. On the other hand, unresolved grief can contribute to trauma, especially if the loss was sudden or unresolved. Both can leave you feeling stuck in a cycle of pain, where the emotions are too much to bear, and the way forward can seem unclear or unreachable.
In our work together, what I want you to know is that it’s not about fixing or forcing yourself to move on. It’s about making space to understand how these two experiences might be impacting you and working with them, rather than against them. Healing comes from learning to sit with both the grief and the trauma, understanding how they show up, and finding ways to navigate them in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you. I’m here to help you explore how these pieces are connected for you, and to support you in creating a way forward that feels manageable and true to your own experience. We’ll work through this together, one step at a time. You don’t have to carry this alone.