Coping with Grief – The CBT Approach
The loss of a loved one makes time stand still and can flip the world you once knew upside down. We cry, change our eating and sleeping habits, long for our loved one and wonder how we will ever live without them. This is all common in simple grief and is the typical response to a loss. Complicated grief (CG) and simple grief look alike in the beginning of the grieving process, but complicated grief becomes a crippling mental health disorder that worsens over time instead of getting better. If you need help coping with grief, the CBT approach may be an effective treatment approach.
The CBT Approach
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy. Dedicating yourself to the CBT approach means accepting that your actions affect your emotions and reasoning. Therapists can teach you skills and strategies on how to change your thoughts and feelings and eliminate negative thinking. Those with CG have irrational thoughts around the loss which create as much pleasure as they do pain. Changing these irrational thoughts to rational ones makes you fully aware of the reality of the loss which decreases yearnings and weakens the pleasure/reward cycle when coping with grief.
A New Beginning
Grief comes in waves and can affect everyone differently. Those who experience simple grief, with or without counselor help, can have their grief largely resolved to move on with their lives while honoring the deceased’s memory in a healthy way. Those with complicated grief may need professional treatment in order to get through their grieving process. If you are struggling with your loss, you should seek professional help on how to cope with your grief.
Learn more: