Grief and Loss
Acknowledge and name your losses without judgement, comparison, or minimisation.
In the military context, grief can refer to the distress associated with losing a friend or colleague, persons who are often described as “family”. Additionally, many current- and ex-serving ADF members experience a quieter, less recognised form of grief, the grief of losing health, capability, identity, career direction, or the sense of belonging that comes with military culture. This type of grief may present as:
How grief may present
- The “What Ifs”
dwelling on how life might have unfolded if a medical discharge hadn’t occurred, if an injury hadn’t happened, or if a particular posting or deployment had gone differently.
- A quiet, persistent ache
a sense of mourning for the version of yourself that existed before service-related experiences changed your body, your worldview, or your trajectory.
- Survivor guilt
grappling with thoughts about what more could have been done, or feeling a sense of anger or deep sadness that you are alive or remained safe while others did not.
- Disenfranchised grief
feeling as though you don’t have the right to grieve because you weren’t in combat, because others “had it worse,” or because your loss isn’t widely recognised.
Veteran-informed recovery, built around you.
Military culture often reinforces the need to “push on,” which means this grief can remain unspoken and unprocessed for years. But unacknowledged grief still shapes mood, identity, relationships, and wellbeing. Our team provides a space to:
- Acknowledge and name your losses without judgement, comparison, or minimisation.
- Process the living grief associated with losing a career, physical capability, identity, or community.
- Help move towards clarity and integrate these experiences into a future that feels meaningful rather than defined by regret.
Our Wellbeing Clinicians
