When the Shape of Everything Changes

Grief appears when something irreplaceable is gone. Not just the death of someone dear, but the quiet collapse of what once felt solid: a relationship, a life role, a future that once seemed certain.
We can also grieve what was never given—a safe childhood, a nurturing love, a body that felt trustworthy, a stable sense of home.

Grief Postponed by the Chaos Before the Quiet

For many, grief isn’t one moment—it’s the aftermath of a series of distressing events. The endless hospital visits. The shock of midnight phone calls. The helplessness of watching someone suffer.
These moments can freeze us. We become stuck in survival mode, suspended in the lead-up to the loss itself—unable to touch the grief that’s waiting underneath.

Grief as Slow, Sacred Alchemy

Grief doesn’t bring instant clarity. It slows your pace, strips away what’s false, and asks you to feel your way through the unknown.
It may feel disorienting, but the wilderness of grief isn’t punishment. It’s a place of quiet transformation.

The Return to Ourselves

When we avoid grief, we lose our footing. But when we allow ourselves to walk through it—however slowly—we begin to come back to ourselves.
We reconnect with the truth of our love, the depth of our longing, and our quiet capacity to endure.

Why Grief Requires Ritual, Attunement, and Kindness

Grief can’t be “fixed.” It’s not a flaw or a problem to be solved.
It’s a deeply human, sacred response to love and loss. But in today’s world, we’re rarely given space for it. We’re expected to keep going before we’ve had time to sit with what’s gone.
When grief isn’t honoured, it doesn’t vanish—it hardens. It can turn into numbness, exhaustion, anger, or a haunting sense of disconnection.

This is why grief needs ritual. Simple, intentional acts—lighting a candle, walking silently through the woods, speaking someone’s name—signal to our nervous system: this is safe. This matters. You are allowed to feel this.

Focused attention brings grief out of hiding. When we turn toward it gently—without rushing—it begins to shift. Not all at once. Not neatly. But it begins to move.

Compassion is the balm. Without it, grief can be unbearable.
With tenderness—for ourselves, for our process—it becomes something we can carry. And in time, something that carries us.

At Healing Trauma Retreat, we hold grief gently. Not by analysing it or forcing it forward, but by meeting it just as it is. With presence. With ritual. With compassion.

Tess Hunneybell offers one-to-one sessions grounded in somatic trauma work and decades of experience supporting people through profound grief, loss, and unresolved sorrow. Whether your grief is fresh or has lived quietly in you for years, these sessions provide a deeply supportive space.

Because when grief is allowed to move, it becomes more than pain—it becomes a quiet return to love.

Somatic Grief Therapy Is Especially Supportive For Those Who Have…

• Lost someone through death, illness, or sudden tragedy

• Experienced a prolonged or traumatic lead-up to a loss

• Gone through the end of a significant relationship or marriage

• Lost a role, purpose, or sense of identity

• Grieved for what was never received—love, safety, or belonging

• Lived through infertility, miscarriage, or struggles with parenthood

• Faced a serious illness or life-changing diagnosis

• Navigated major life transitions: retirement, relocation, empty nest

• Felt burdened by collective grief—climate anxiety, ancestral loss, or global trauma

You don’t need to justify your grief.
If you’re feeling lost or unsure how to keep moving, somatic grief therapy offers a space to pause, be heard, and gently come back home to yourself.

Book a free 30-minute discovery call.