Grief is Not Linear

Grief is not a straight line. It doesn’t move neatly from sadness to acceptance, and it doesn’t follow a timeline that makes sense to anyone but the person experiencing it. One day you may feel steady, even hopeful. Next, you may feel undone by something small and unexpected. This is not failure — it is grief doing what grief does.

Many people come to therapy asking, “Is this normal?”

The short answer is yes. Grief can manifest as sadness, anger, numbness, relief, guilt, confusion, or a combination of these emotions — sometimes all within the same hour. It can manifest physically as exhaustion, tension, brain fog, or changes in sleep and appetite. It can resurface months or years later, long after others assume you’ve “moved on.”

One of the most painful myths about grief is that healing means forgetting or letting go. In reality, healing often means learning how to carry loss differently. The love, the memories, and the meaning don’t disappear — they change shape. Grief becomes part of your story, not the end of it.

Grief also doesn’t only follow death. People grieve relationships, identities, health, futures they imagined, and versions of themselves they had to leave behind. These losses can feel just as profound and deserve the same care and acknowledgment.

If you’re navigating grief, it can help to give yourself permission to slow down. To rest when your body asks for rest. To feel what shows up without judging it. To talk about your loss with someone who can sit with it without trying to fix it or rush you through it.

Support matters. Grief is heavy, and you don’t have to carry it alone. Therapy can provide a space where your experience is honored, where your emotions are not overwhelming, and where you can begin to find steadier ground — at your own pace.

There is no timeline for grief. There is only your timeline. And wherever you are on it, you are not doing it wrong.

If you’re struggling with loss and would like support, compassionate, trauma-informed therapy can help you navigate this season with care and understanding.