Grief
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Grief is a part of the human experience. It is the emotion that is felt after loss and can result from losing a person or pet. However, it can also result from losing a job, relationship, identity, or a time of life. While similar in some respects to depression, grief and depression are distinctly different, and grief can cause a person to reach for easy solutions such as substance abuse. As a result, many individuals experiencing bereavement end up struggling with a variety of challenges. Healing from substance abuse and processing grief at PCP – The Perry Clayman Project helps individuals move forward and un-weave the chaos in their lives.
Stages of Grief
The experience of grief is not a state. Rather, it is a process. Every person experiences the process of bereavement in a unique way. While the five stages of grief are commonly found in a certain order, individuals in bereavement will often bounce in between each stage. Each stage of grief serves a purpose for an individual to process their loss and move forward with their life.
The stages of grief include:
- Denial and isolation
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
Each stage can be related to many different aspects of loss. For example, individuals may feel anger over a loved one’s death, anger at themselves, or generalised frustration. In addition, each stage may have an overlap in a person’s behaviours. A person who is in a depressive phase can have angry outbursts as a result of the feelings they are experiencing.
Grief vs. Depression
While depression is a stage of grief, the mental health disorder of depression is different from grieving. Depression is a mental health disorder that is chronic. It causes an individual to experience persistent symptoms, including:
- Sad, anxious, or empty mood
- Pessimism or hopelessness
- Low energy or fatigue
- Difficulty focusing
- Changes in appetite or sleep
- Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities
It is common for a person to experience some or all of these symptoms while in the depressive phase of grief. However, when a person is experiencing depression, these symptoms do not pass with time as a person processes their loss. Depression is a mental health disorder that requires treatment.
In treatment, many factors that contribute to depression are addressed, and the process of healing is unique for each person. However, it is distinctly different from the process of healing from loss, which requires that a person go through phases of grieving and learn how to accept the loss they have faced.
Bereavement and Substance Use
When an individual has lost a person, part of their identity, job, or other important piece of their life, it causes many challenges. While each person’s process of healing is different, the stages of grieving are painful and difficult. They disrupt a person’s life and make it challenging for a person to maintain relationships, keep up with work, and function in their daily life.
As a result, many individuals seek ways to dull or decrease their pain. Substances provide an easy way to hide from the pain of loss. The choice of substance will vary for each person. Different substances may be used as a way to decrease symptoms of depression, denial, or anger.
While a person’s aim is to use substances as a way to decrease their pain, substance abuse disrupts the normal grieving process. This causes feelings revolving around grief to extend, which results in grief lasting longer than it would have without substance abuse. When grief is left unprocessed, it continues to cause chaos in a person’s life. In addition, substance abuse often leads to addiction, which complicates matters and makes healing from grief more challenging.
Healing From Addiction That Began With Grief
Whether a person is struggling with alcohol addiction or drug addiction, healing from an addiction that began with grief is complicated. It requires that an individual goes through the normal process of healing from addiction. At PCP – The Perry Clayman Project, this generally begins with detox. After detox, individuals go through rehab treatment. Rehab treatment includes understanding what aspects of life have influenced their substance abuse.
This includes grief. When a person is struggling with addiction and has unprocessed grief, healing includes addressing the loss and/or trauma that has occurred in their life. In both individual counselling and group therapy, clients begin to look at how grief has impacted their substance abuse and addiction. With guidance from a counsellor, they piece together the progression and interaction of grief and addiction and, therefore, start to see a path forward out of chaos.
The path of healing is unique for each individual, and while it is not easy, it is worthwhile for a client to heal. With the combination of grief and addiction, healing generally includes helping a client process their loss. By re-processing their loss, they move through the grieving phases and integrate their experience into their sense of self. In addition, they build skills that will help them to deal with loss in the future, maintain their mental health, and stay sober after they leave treatment for substance abuse and addiction.
Grieving is a natural part of the human experience; however, it can derail a person’s life and play a role in substance abuse and addiction. Call PCP – The Perry Clayman Project today at 08000 380 480 to learn how we help individuals who are struggling with addiction and substance abuse by helping them heal from past losses and learn long-term skills that help them stay sober.