In 1969, Swiss-American Psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross theorized that there are five universal stages of grief: denial and seclusion, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages have since been used to describe how we respond to a heartbreaking loss. But here’s the thing: Coping with a devastating loss is an incredibly…
The experience of being pregnant can be transformative for your body, mind, and spirit. Physically, you might feel different as you deal with morning sickness, tender breasts, and fatigue. Emotionally, you may start to see your surroundings through the eyes of your future child. Your relationship with your partner might…
Child therapists know that children grieve differently from adults, and they also understand how a child’s unique grieving process might be overlooked in the midst of significant loss. Children who experience the death of someone close to them are often surrounded by adult suffering. They might not want to burden…
Intense feelings of despair. Anxiety. Hopelessness, Loss of interest. Mood swings. Irritability. Social isolation. What do all of these things have in common? They’re symptoms of depression—and well-known symptoms, at that. As we grow more comfortable talking about mental health and mental illness, depression is often a topic of interest…
Instead of “getting over” or “moving on” from grief, you should take the necessary time and care to process the loss that you have experienced. While grief does lessen in intensity with time, it never truly goes away… as you’ll never forget that person you lost and the impact they…
I remember my first real breakup like it was yesterday. In reality, it was about 8 years ago. I was a freshman in high school and my boyfriend of two years (yep, we started dating in 7th grade) was avoiding me. Every day before soccer practice, he would stop by…
Breakups suck. I don’t care if you’re the dumper or the dumpee—regardless, you’re in a sucky position. However, there is one key difference between the two: as the dumper, you decide how this breakup unfolds. Or at least how this breakup begins to unfold. While there is no textbook equation…
Breakups aren’t usually mutually agreed upon or if they are, it’s a pretty rare phenomenon. When one person in the couple is left to pick up the pieces of an ended relationship, it can take a while to cope with not seeing, speaking, or texting that person every day—or several…