Post-Grad Greif
As I just finished attending the last of the graduation parties for the loved graduates in my life, I was faced with a reminder of a common experience my clients face. Post-Grad Grief.
Graduation is often painted as the ultimate goal, the finish line you’ve been working toward for years. You're supposed to feel proud, excited, accomplished. And maybe you do. But what if, alongside all those feelings, you also feel… lost? Numb? Anxious? Lonely What if, instead of feeling like you're stepping into your future, it feels like you're leaving behind a piece of yourself?
That experience has a name: grief.
Yes, You Can Grieve a Life Transition! Grief isn’t just reserved for the loss of a loved one. It's a natural emotional response to any significant ending. And college, for many people, is more than just classes and degrees, it’s identity, community, structure, and routine. It’s the place where you learned who you are (or who you thought you were going to be). It’s where you had late-night talks with roommates, spontaneous weekend adventures, and a sense of belonging.
So when it ends, even if you're “ready,” it can feel like something important has been taken from you.
Post-grad grief can show up in a lot of ways:
A sense of aimlessness or lack of direction
Sadness or nostalgia when you think about college
Anxiety about the future or the pressure to “figure it all out”
Isolation after moving away from friends or leaving your campus community
Guilt for not feeling happier about this new chapter
These feelings are valid. And they’re more common than people talk about. Our culture tends to glorify productivity and moving forward, leaving little space to process what we’re leaving behind.
How Therapy Can Help
If you're feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or unsure how to move forward, therapy can be a powerful tool in navigating this transition.
Here’s how therapy can help:
Naming the grief: Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re grieving. Therapy helps you identify and validate your feelings so you can stop fighting them and start working with them.
Reconnecting to self: College can shape a version of you that was tied to academics, friendships, or specific roles. Therapy creates space to explore who you are now, beyond student life.
Building new routines and structure: That loss of daily rhythm can feel disorienting. A therapist can help you create new routines that support your mental health and well-being in this new phase.
Processing identity shifts: Graduating often triggers deeper questions: Who am I? What do I want? What now? Therapy can help you explore these questions with curiosity, not panic.
Creating space for both/and: You can be excited and sad. Ready and scared. Hopeful and grieving. Therapy supports you in holding all these truths at once.
Give Yourself Permission to Feel
Just because you're stepping into something new doesn't mean you have to rush past what you’re leaving behind. Grief is a natural, human part of growth. And healing isn’t about “getting over it”, it’s about moving through it with care and intention. So if you’ve recently graduated and you're feeling off, emotional, or confused, you’re not broken. You’re just adjusting. And you don’t have to do it alone. Therapy can offer the support, reflection, and grounding you need to mourn what was, make sense of what is, and slowly start imagining what’s next.
