Navigating Grief in Times of Transition
Field Guide Entry by Samantha Gremillion
Life brings many transitions. Some that are planned and some may be unexpected. Change is inevitable, and it often stirs up a range of emotions and challenges, including grief. Grief is most often discussed in the context of death (and can be just as difficult), it also shows up in the everyday shifts that move you from one season of life to the next. Grief is the mind and body’s way of making sense of change as you let go of what once felt familiar and safe. Because humans naturally long for safety and stability, it’s normal to experience difficult emotions when a transition shakes that sense of security.
Understanding Grief in Transitions
Life transitions will look different for everyone. A career shift, a change in identity, relocating to a new city, evolving relationships, shifting routines, or returning to work after starting a family. Each of these experiences involves moving you from one stage, role, or way of being to another. These transitions come with unique emotions, from excitement and gratitude to sadness and mourning. Difficulties may arise from navigating uncertainty and learning to adapt. With these shifts presents an opportunity to create space for self-awareness, resilience, and a new way of being.
Grief is a natural human response to loss, change, endings, or beginnings. This process of grief includes emotional, physical, and psychological responses that fluctuate over time. Sadness, excitement, relief, anger, numbness, anxiety, disbelief, and acceptance may all arise emotionally. Fatigue, difficulty sleeping, changes in appetite, muscle tension, or headaches may show up in the body. Racing thoughts, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, or questioning your decision may show up mentally.
A widely known framework for understanding grief is Elisabeth Kübler-Ros’s ‘Five Stages of Grief,’ which include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While this model offers language for what many experience internally, grief is rarely linear. It ebbs and flows and it is common to feel multiple emotions at once. Even if the transition is something you are genuinely looking forward to, grief can still be present, which can feel confusing. Joy and grief can coexist, and each deserves to be acknowledged with compassion and understanding.
Acknowledging the Signs of Grief
Oftentimes, signs of grief during life transitions are overlooked. In Western society, there is a tendency to celebrate change and focus on progress or “moving forward.” While those messages can be motivating, this can also unintentionally minimize or dismiss the difficult emotions or experiences during the transition, leaving you to think something is ‘wrong’ with you. When the focus is only on what’s next, it can leave little room to acknowledge what’s being lost or left behind.
You might find yourself questioning why you feel heavy, disconnected, or emotionally drained during a time that you’d envision being exciting. Grief that comes with non-death-related changes can easily be mistaken for burnout, stress, anxiety, or ongoing responsibilities. If you notice yourself thinking you ‘should’ feel grateful or happy and criticizing yourself for your emotions… this may be grief signaling that it needs your attention. Rather than ignoring these complexities or judging them, consider offering them space to be seen.
How to Navigate Grief in Transition
Grief is complex. The way you navigate it matters. My invitation to you is to experiment with these options, to meet yourself with curiosity, and notice what supports you. Here are a few ways to support yourself through grief in life transitions:
Give yourself permission to feel. Remind yourself that whatever is happening is valid.
Practice mindfulness. Allow yourself to be present with all emotions and experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant.
Use grounding practices. Breathwork, stretching, or yoga, or mindful walking can assist you in moving through difficulties.
Journal your experience. Write about the transition, create a timeline of events, or write a letter to your past self, express the story of what’s changing
Offer yourself compassion. Speak to yourself as you would a friend navigating a similar change.
Lean on support. Reach out to trusted friends, family, or a licensed therapist to reduce isolation.
Memorialize the transition. Find meaningful ways to honor what is ending while stepping into what is beginning.
Grief can be a powerful teacher. It reminds you that you are always evolving. It can show you what once grounded you and what you can take forward. Whatever it is that you are grieving, growth and change do not erase what came before. By allowing space for both grief and growth you create an opportunity to carry the lessons forward, realign with your values, and step into a deeper sense of clarity and connection with yourself.
There is no ‘right’ way to grieve. It can feel overwhelming at times, but you don’t have to move through it in silence or alone. Reaching out for extra support can make a difference as you process emotions that may feel heavy. You are allowed to grieve, and you are also capable of growing through it.
About Samantha
Samantha Gremillion, LCSW-BACS, is a Baton Rouge, LA therapist and clinical supervisor who helps people get to the roots of anxiety, heal trauma, and reconnect mind and body using EMDR, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and self-compassion. After leadership roles in other organizations and becoming a mom, she launched a private practice to provide trauma-informed psychotherapy, creative care, clinical supervision, and consultation for social workers. She is passionate about helping individuals build inner resources, explore the beliefs that shape their lives, and navigate vulnerable seasons with more ease. She creates a calm, collaborative space where clients build skills, shift patterns, and finds lasting relief. Samantha is also a wife, mom, and avid gardener.
