Grieving the loss of autonomy, identity, and relationship Dependency in addiction creates multiple, overlapping losses: The loss of self-governance for the person using The loss of mutuality for those who care The loss of predictability, safety, and future orientation for systems Because these losses are ongoing and stigmatized, they often remain unmourned, trapping people in cycles of shame, control, and despair. Mapping dependency to the 6 Needs of Mourning allows grief to

Applying a mourning framework to the loss of place, home, and belonging Displacement is not a single loss—it is a compound grief that touches identity, safety, continuity, and future. Applying the 6 Needs of Mourning helps make visible what is often silenced or misnamed as “adjustment” or “transition.” Below, each need is translated specifically for displacement grief—what it asks of the mourner, how it commonly gets blocked, and what support looks like in practice. Acknowled

(What must be actively tended to heal) Unlike stages, these needs are non-linear and often revisited. Acknowledge the Reality of the Loss Divorce is often socially minimized: “At least no one died.” But something did die: A shared future A chosen identity A belief in permanence Acknowledgment means naming divorce as a legitimate bereavement, not a personal failure. Feel the Pain of the Loss Many divorcees intellectualize grief to survive. Feeling s may include: Shame for “fa

Here is a deep, structured, emotionally attuned framework applying Alan Wolfelt’s Six Needs of Mourning specifically to the end of romantic relationships, with two pathways: Sudden endings (unexpected breakup, betrayal, abandonment) Mutual decisions (chosen, intentional, compassionate separation) This is designed to help you understand the different emotional landscapes of each path and what the psyche needs to heal. Two Pathways: Sudden Ending vs. Mutual Decision 1. ACKNOWLE

Losing a career isn’t just losing a job. It is losing a rhythm, a role, a way you introduced yourself at parties, a structure around your days, a source of pride, and—sometimes—your sense of self. Like any major loss, it leaves a deep vacancy that requires mourning. The Six Needs of Mourning offer a way to understand that inner terrain. Below is how each need shows up when the loss you’re grieving is your career . Acknowledge the Reality of the Loss This is the moment when th

The Whole House of Mourning (using the House of Wonder Framework) The six rooms aren’t a sequence. They’re not a maze. They’re a home—one you inhabit for as long as grief insists. The doors don’t lock. The rooms don’t disappear. You move through them in spirals, in loops, in unexpected patterns. Grief is not a journey with a finish line; it is a home you learn to live in. And over time, the house doesn’t get smaller— you grow big enough to live in all its rooms without fear.

A framework for acknowledging, processing, and integrating the end of a once-anchoring friendship. Accept the Reality of the Friendship’s Ending What this means in Friendships: Friendship endings rarely come with ceremony or clarity. They often fade, fracture slowly, or collapse abruptly. Accepting the ending does not mean approving of it. It means acknowledging that the friendship no longer functions as it once did. Processes that support this need: Naming the loss: “We aren