Understanding Grief and Loss

Grief is a difficult word to define; it would seem that sadness would be enough to describe the experience of grief, but when one is actually grieving, it becomes clear that this experience is far more complex than most of us realize until we’ve gone through it.   There are also many different kinds of grief.  Needless to say, suffering the death of a loved one is extremely difficult and painful.  However, other losses are also significant.  Often individuals are grieving another kind of loss but don’t feel as though their emotions are legitimate.  This page is intended to help you understand the complete meaning of this complex and emotional experience we refer to as Grief and Loss. 

The nature of life is such that we will all, at some point, eventually deal with some type of grief and loss experience.  Because being in college is such a stimulating experience to begin with, grieving for college students has unique challenges. 

In order to best understand “grief” it may be helpful to first think in terms of loss.  Loss refers to the emotional and psychological experience of losing any significant and valued aspect of your life, no matter how significant it may seem to others.  This is an important point because, often, individuals are going through a grief experience and don’t deal with it as such because they feel their loss is not important enough or it wasn’t a big enough part of life.  For example, 

• a pet that has died 

• parents selling the house one grew up in 

• a personal belonging being stolen or lost

• a romantic relationship breaking up

• the end of an ongoing experience 

  • such as being in a play, 

  • such as being on an athletic team for a season

  • such as leaving high school to start college

Someone who goes through any of these or similar "endings" feels the wide range of emotions and changes in their daily lives that comprise grief.  However, because it doesn't involve the death of someone they were close to, they may put themselves down for having these feelings rather than seeking and accepting the support they need and should have.  

If you have lost anything, any place, or anyone that was an important part of your life, it’s okay to say, “I’m grieving.”   Once you can acknowledge and accept that you are going through a legitimate experience of grief, you can move through the journey of recovering from the loss. 

If any of these difficulties have begun to emerge in you or someone you know who is struggling with a loss, help is available.  One of the challenges associated with grieving is that the person who is going through the loss experience feels that everyone else grows weary of their struggle. It may be helpful for the person grieving to speak to a counselor to move through the grief they feel.  The Counseling Center here at Georgia State University has professionals who can help.  If you'd like to speak to a counselor to discuss how we can be helpful, don't hesitate to call or stop by our office to set up an appointment.

The Counseling Center
106 Courtland Street
Monday - Friday Open From 9am - 5:pm
(Evening Hours Available on Tuesdays When Classes are in Session)
(404) 413-1640

If you'd like to learn more about the grieving process and what many people experience when they've lost a loved one, visit the Moving through Grief page.

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