Dr. Esslin Terrighena

Suggestions on how to manage your emotional pain following the death of a loved one. The pain of grief can be all-consuming and overwhelming. It can hijack us out of the blue and pull us under a metaphorical tidal wave. Emotions may be conflicting, confusing, and entangled with each other, so we may experience the … Read more

Why guilt and shame may arise following the loss of a loved one, and how to navigate these feelings in a healthy way.  Death is so ultimate and terminal, and relationships are so complex – we may experience many conflicting emotions after losing a loved one. Guilt in the mourning process is unfortunately the rule, … Read more

Discussing the experience of isolation during grief, and how to help ourselves feel more connected.  Grief can be a very isolating experience. We may feel that no one understands the chaos our inner world has been thrown into. We may wake up in the morning consumed by grief, with little reprieve throughout the day, until … Read more

Elaborating on the physical pain we can experience following the death of a loved one and how we can ease it.  Losing a loved one can trigger overwhelming emotional pain. The intensity of our distress in response to losing a loved one activates physiological processes in our bodies related to stress and survival. Thus, emotional … Read more

Exploring the feeling of anger following the loss of a loved one, what it looks like, and what can help.  Anger can come on like red hot fury following the death of a loved one. We may be angry with the circumstances that took our loved one. We may be angry at ourselves for something … Read more

In this article we discuss four crucial tasks that contribute to a healthy grieving process and our healing from loss. Grief and mourning are often used interchangeably. However, grief can be defined as the cognitive, emotional, physical, behavioural and social reactions to loss. Mourning, on the other hand, is defined as the active coping process … Read more

In this article we identify common symptoms of grief to watch out for after we experience loss. Grief refers to our cognitive, emotional, physical, behavioural, and social reactions to loss. It is helpful to stay aware of our symptoms so that we can prioritise recovery and process our grief in a healthy way. Here are … Read more

In this article we define grief and identify seven stages we may go through after experiencing a loss. When we think of grief, we often think of the death of a loved one. However, loss can occur in many different ways and is often the result of change. There is physical loss, such as death, … Read more