Grief Support Services is a local agency working in the community alongside people feeling the affects of grief in their lives. Often the concept of ‘grief’ is only associated with death. However, grief can occur following any loss. Losses such as leaving things familiar when moving town; children leaving home, not being able to drive or live alone any more; being made redundant or a relationship ending, the death of a pet, being advised of a terminal illness and the loss of body function name but a few of the losses and changes that people may be faced with throughout their lives. Whether it is circumstances such as these, or the loss of a loved one, our service is available to you.

While there are many opinions about how to grieve, the way we grieve and the affects of grief is unique to each of us. There is no “right way” of grieving. Grief can sap energy, interrupt concentration, take your appetite away or have you eat more. It can affect your health, knock confidence; have you wondering if you’re going crazy. It can have you question your faith or help you to find faith or feel like there’s no point anymore. There can be many feelings happening all at once, your head might tell you one thing and your heart might be telling you another. It can get confusing or overwhelm you with it’s intensity.

Some of the things that may influence the intensity of the grief relate to how attached we were to what or who it is we’ve lost, how suddenly the loss occurred, the way in which it occurred and what it might mean for the future. Whatever the loss is that we experience it is always accompanied by change.

This change can throw up more questions, more dilemmas and uncertainty. It can also create opportunities and possibilities we hadn’t thought of or maybe ones we’ve wished for, for a long time. Sometimes there can feelings of guilt for embracing the change.

At Grief Support Services our counsellors offer one on one and whanau/family sessions to help you talk about your experience of loss and grief in a supportive and caring way and help you make sense of the change that is taking place in your life. Sometimes people can feel pressure or feel that they can’t speak up because of the expectations our culture has about grieving. To be told things such as “it’s time you moved on” or “you’ll find a new partner” can make it difficult to continue expressing your grief. We will listen to you without such expectations and accompany you as you make your way through this time. Email: admin@griefsupport.org.nz