An effect of trauma

Grief that is stuck and will not let you move

Grief that did not follow the expected path. That is still as raw as the day it started, or that has settled into a permanent ache that reorganizes everything around it. Life after the loss feels impossible to imagine or build. The person or thing that is gone takes up more space than what remains. This is not weakness or failure to cope. It is love with nowhere to go.

It can sound like

“I am not over it and I do not know if I ever will be.” “It was a long time ago and it still feels recent.” “I do not know how to live without them.” “Moving on feels like leaving them behind.”

If any of those sentences live in your head too, you are in good company here.

Experiences this often follows

Effects do not come from nowhere. These are some of the experiences that people who carry this one often describe. You do not need to have been through any of them for what you feel to be real.

Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.

You do not have to carry this alone.

Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.

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