Grief & Loss Counselling in Newton Abbot
Grief & Loss Counselling Newton Abbot When Your World Shifts
Grief isn’t an organized thing you neatly process. It can mean a total collapse of the landscape you used to navigate. When someone, or something important is gone, the world doesn’t just keep moving—it can feel like it’s stopped.
You might feel every emotion at once: a deep, hollow absence; white-hot anger that isn’t aimed anywhere; a sudden, child-like confusion; or a sense of an unbearable weight that makes simple tasks feel physically impossible. There’s no right way to hurt.
In the quiet of my therapy room, I’ll recognize that what you’re dealing with is a natural, messy, and maybe brutal response to the absence you’re feeling.
The impact of grief & loss
Loss doesn’t just mean a death. It’s the shattering of any significant attachment in your life. It could be the death of a parent, a child, or a partner. It could be the losses a long illness can bring, the sudden finality of a job termination, the irreversible end of a relationship, or the sorrow of losing a cherished pet .
When you’re stuck in it, grief can feel less like sadness and more like a powerful physical reaction:
Physical Collapse
You might notice your body is constantly running on empty; stomach problems, unexpected pain, brain fog, or a feeling of constant restlessness are common. The sheer effort of existing can be overwhelming .
The Rewritten Script
Loss forces you to rewrite your entire future story, and that is a massive undertaking. You might feel disoriented, unsure of who you are without the specific role you played as a spouse, caregiver, employee .
The "Why" Spiral
Your mind can often cycle endlessly through questions of “What if?” or “Why did this happen?” This can lead to feeling guilty—believing you should have done more, said something different, or somehow prevented the inevitable.
Understanding grief & loss
Grief Is Not a Five-Stage Process
The idea that grief follows five or seven neat steps is a myth. It’s not a ladder to climb; it’s a tidal wave that hits, recedes, and then hits again when you least expect it .
Grief can seem erratic, marked by unpredictability. You can have an hour of peace, only to be ambushed by a sudden, severe wave of tears in a supermarket aisle.
When exploring your loss, we’ll firstly look at exploring the meaning of it for you. Your task is not to ‘get over’ the person or thing you lost, but to figure out how to carry the memory forward while still finding a way to live fully in the present.
The Work of Grief
Beginning to look at your loss, to understand the grief you’re experiencing can involve:
Acknowledging the Reality: Facing the finality of an absence, however painful.
Managing the Pain: Finding ways to express the intense, chaotic emotions without letting them destroy you.
Adjusting to the New World: Learning to operate in a life where the missing piece is simply gone.
Re-investing Energy: Finding a way to emotionally re-engage with your life as it is now, holding the memory close, but not allowing it to paralyze you.
How Counselling Can Help with Grief & Loss
The goal in our counselling sessions isn’t to ‘fix’ the loss—that’s impossible. It’s about giving you a safe, sturdy container for the intensity of your pain.
In our sessions, we can:
Sit with the Mess
Create space for the shame, anger, or numbness that others might tell you to “move past.” These are messy but legitimate emotions that deserve to be seen.
Handle the Triggers
Identify the specific dates, places, or songs that cause those sudden, overwhelming plunges into sorrow. We develop reliable, practical strategies to manage the triggers and emotional ambush when it inevitably happens.
Dismantle the Guilt
Challenge the looping thoughts that accuse you of failing the person or situation. We work to replace self-punishment with a firm, basic patience toward yourself.
Find Anchor Points
Explore ways to honour the memory of the loss without letting it become the single, defining fact of your life. This is about building a bridge between your past and your necessary future.
Taking The Next Step
If the pain of loss has left you feeling adrift, exhausted, or furious, you don’t have to navigate this overwhelming current alone.
Seeking support is a way of confronting of the pain, and work to ease and understand it – not a way to avoid it.
My work is gentle and collaborative — I don’t come with a fixed plan or quick answers. Instead, I listen carefully, ask questions that could help you think differently and support you in finding your own way forward.
You’re welcome to contact me for a free initial discussion to see if my way of working with grief and loss in Newton Abbot feels like the right fit for you.