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SUD treatment executive, national news contributor & keynote speaker.
Navigation:
- Overview
- How Connected Are Grief and Addiction?
- The Most Common Types of Grief
- Addressing Grief in Addiction Treatment
- Find Rehab Centers That Offer Grief Counseling Services
Overview
Grief and substance abuse are linked in countless ways. The connection between the loss of a friend or loved one and the onset of drug and alcohol abuse has been well documented as those who experience bereavement often drink or use drugs as a coping mechanism.
The cruel irony of this reality is that prolonged drug use often brings its own set of losses. Drug use tends to funnel users into friendships and social circles formed primarily around drug use. Over time, people may lose the friends with whom they used to overdose, which compounds their grief even further.
In the interest of helping patients overcome and process their grief in a safe and healthy way, many rehab centers offer grief counseling services either as part of their programs or as coordinated services as part of patients’ aftercare plans.
How Connected Are Grief and Addiction?
The trauma of grief can define a person’s life and force them to form their identity around the event, depending upon how traumatic it is. Grief gives way to addiction through a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to
- Refusal or Inability to Face Loss – Even though a person may be aware of the reality of their grief, they may not be willing to face it directly. Instead they may try to find places to hide from it, ultimately finding unhealthy ways to cope.
- Replacing a “Someone” with a Substance – It’s common for people to try and evade the pain of loss by numbing it with the escape of alcohol or drug use.
- Fatalism and Isolation – It’s unfortunately common in the aftermath of a loss to close one’s self off from their community when they should, in actuality, be doing the opposite and finding solace in community. They may also decide that life is no longer worth living and hasten their own self-harm with substance use.
It’s also important to realize that grief isn’t necessarily confined to death and that it’s possible to mourn something other than mortality. A person may mourn the death of their career, their marriage or romantic relationship, their stages of life, and more.
Each person copes with grief differently, but it’s important to ensure that people allow themselves to feel the totality of grief and find healthy outlets for coping with it to avoid adopting harmful or self-destructive behaviors in the aftermath of their trauma.
The Most Common Types of Grief
There are many schools of thought and analysis around grief, all of which parse it out into different quantities and varieties. Generally speaking, however, there are five main types of grief under which most manifestations of loss fall:
- Anticipatory Grief – Grief before a loss, associated with diagnosis of an acute, chronic, and/or terminal illness experienced by the patient, family, or caregivers. Examples of anticipatory grief include actual or fear of potential loss of health, independence, body part, financial stability, choice, or mental function.
- Acute Grief – Grief that begins immediately after the death of a loved one and includes the separation response and response to stress. During this period of acute grief, the bereaved person may be confused and/or uncertain about their identity or social role. They may disengage from their usual activities and experience disbelief and shock that their loved one is gone.
- Normal Grief – Grief that includes the common feelings, behaviors, and reactions to loss.
- Disenfranchised Grief – grief over any loss that is not validated or recognized. Those affected by this type of grief do not feel the freedom to openly acknowledge their grief. Individuals at risk for disenfranchised grief are those who have lost loved ones to stigmatized illnesses or events, such as AIDS.
- Complicated Grief – This type of grief is rarer than other types and includes four sub-types (chronic grief, delayed grief, exaggerated grief, and masked grief. Risk factors for developing complicated grief include sudden or traumatic death, suicide, homicide, a dependent relationship with the deceased, chronic illness, death of a child, multiple losses, unresolved grief from prior losses, concurrent stressors, witnessing a difficult dying process such as pain and suffering, lack of support and faith systems.
Addressing Grief in Addiction Treatment
Each person’s treatment for co-occurring addiction and grief is unique. Generally speaking however, patients work with their therapists in both group therapy and one-on-therapy paradigms through a variety of specific modalities to identify how their grief led to and sustained their addiction. The work then begins by finding ways to manage their grief without the likelihood of relapse.
As patients get further ahead in their grief counseling, they start to develop coping mechanisms that they can integrate into their aftercare plans and use in their post-treatment therapy. Contact the admissions team at the facility you’re considering to find out more about their grief counseling services and how they integrate into their overall care programs.
Find Rehab Centers That Offer Grief Counseling Services
Grief counseling services in addiction treatment can help individuals process loss, trauma, and emotional pain that may contribute to substance use. Use our nationwide directory to find rehab centers that offer grief counseling services, including inpatient, outpatient, and dual diagnosis programs designed to support emotional healing and long-term recovery.
