It's always hard when a client dies. Once in a while by suicide, sometimes by old age, sometimes due to medical conditions and sometimes due to an accident.
I've had several clients pass in my time, but the hardest one I learned about today. Therapy promotes a sort of emotional intimacy with people. It's a space where a person can feel (hopefully) completely safe from the outside world and open up about their deepest fears and issues and learn how to deal with them. Sharing those experiences with people does create a connection.
Therapists care about their clients and are equally excited about their successes if not more so.
This client is hitting me hard not just because they passed away but many other factors relating to what they left behind.
The stages of grief, they're bunk. Now the spectrum of grief, that's more realistic.
To be honest, the only reason I have posted this is to get it out there. I'm not looking for sympathy, I just needed to release it. This is going to be impacting me for a while, which is expected. Fortunately I have a few others with whom I can grieve.
It sucks but as with everything else, I will get through it.
Gloria Gaynor would be proud.
