Telephone : 
Grief and Loss
Introduction
An adolescent’s grief can be impacted by any number of things, including but not limited to their unique relationship with the individual, how the individual died, their support system, past experiences with death, and their own unique strengths and weaknesses when it comes to dealing with stress, adversity, and high emotion. Loss is more intense when the teenager has a close relationship with the person who died, such as a parent or sibling. However, this is not always obvious from a child’s reactions, and their grief may seem to come and go. Your teenager may also re-experience the intensity of the loss as he or she grows up.
You can be rest assured that at Skooc, you and your family are in good hands.
Symptoms
Grief is as unique as the people who experience it, but some reactions to grief are universal and considered normal or typical. Keep a lookout for some of the following signs of grief and loss in your teenager:
Talks about heaviness in the chest or tightness in the throat, An empty feeling in the stomach and a loss of appetite, Sleeplessness or troubling dreams.
Anger and lashing out at others, sometimes at any time for no reason, Intense anger at the deceased for dying, and later feelings of guilt for being angry.
Mood changes over the slightest things, Unexpected outbursts or crying.
Feelings of restlessness and simultaneous difficulty concentrating on a task at hand.
A feeling that the loss isn’t real and didn’t happen at all.
Sensing the deceased’s presence, expecting the deceased to walk through the door at the usual time, hearing his or her voice, or a sensation of “seeing” the deceased out of the corner of their eye.
Talking to pictures, Conversing with the deceased in a special place.
Assuming mannerisms, traits or wearing clothes that were favourites of the deceased.
Emotional regression and even bed-wetting, which can be very upsetting for teenagers.
A need to retell and remember things about their loved one, to the point of repetition that becomes a burden to others.
An inability to say anything, or the need to be overly responsible, distracting themselves from their own feelings by taking care of everyone else.
If you notice recurring instances of a few of these symptoms in your teenager, we at Skooc recommend a formal evaluation.
Diagnosis
At Skooc, we help you better understand what you and your teenager are going through. Complicated grief may be considered when the intensity of grief has not decreased in the months after your loved one’s death. Some mental health professionals diagnose complicated grief when grieving continues to be intense, persistent and debilitating beyond 12 months.
There are many similarities between complicated grief and major depression, but there are also distinct differences. In some cases, clinical depression and complicated grief occur together. Getting the correct diagnosis is essential for appropriate treatment, so a comprehensive medical and psychological exam is often done.
Click here to take an assessment.
Next Steps and Intervention
Our team of professional psychologists at Skooc can help you and your family by providing the necessary interventions. At Skooc, we work with teens to help them fully process their loss and grief on the deepest level possible. It’s especially important to help teens address any aspects of the loss or experience that has gone unaddressed or avoided until this time and therefore continues to keep teens stuck in this stage.
Therapy can be effective when done individually or in a group format. This involves exploring topics such as grief reactions and adjusting to your loss, and redefining your life goals. These sessions involve holding imaginary conversations with your loved one and retelling them the circumstances of the death to help you become less distressed by images and thoughts of your loved one. Through these sessions, the teenager can explore and process thoughts and emotions, improve coping skills and reduce feelings of blame and guilt.
Developmental Assesments, Therapy and Counselling Sessions at Narayana Clinic, Sarjapura Road, Bengaluru.
