Rue from 'Euphoria' lets grief paralyze her, according to a therapist. Here's how to avoid getting stuck in your pain.

• On HBO's "Euphoria," Rue deals with drug addiction while grieving her father's death.
• Rue is stuck in her grief because she avoids it and isolates herself, a therapist told Insider.

On HBO's hit drama series "Euphoria," Rue Bennett is shown spiraling into drug addiction as a teenager after her father dies of terminal cancer.

While the television show has become a sensation because of its gritty depiction of teenage sex, love, and drug use, "Euphoria" also explores complex emotional struggles. One of those is the process of grieving, Shahem McLaurin, a licensed social worker and therapist who works with children in the juvenile justice system, said on TikTok.

According to McLaurin, Rue — who has spent most of season two high on a combination of weed, prescription drugs, and alcohol — is "immobilized" by her own grief.

When a young person, or even an adult, doesn't learn how to process difficult emotions or trauma, they tend to avoid those emotions or isolate themselves, McLaurin, who uses they/them pronouns, told Insider.

They said reaching out for support from loved ones or a professional, learning to feel your feelings in a healthy way, and identifying bad habits can keep a grieving person from spiraling into the denial and bargaining stages of grief, like Rue does on "Euphoria."

Understand that grief is part of life and it isn't shameful to need support

A person can grieve not only death but also the end of a friendship, romance, or life stage like childhood, McLaurin said.

Since grief can hit for so many reasons, it's important to accept it as a part of being human, rather than avoid the emotion, they said.

People often experience grief in waves and cope in different ways, so you shouldn't judge yourself for feeling great one day and down the next, Caroline Leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist and mental-health expert, told Insider.

"Dealing with loss is so final and unchangeable, and this is very hard. Time doesn't heal. Time helps to create the space
necessary to come to terms with the inevitability of the loss the grief is associated with," Leaf said.

When you learn to not judge yourself for your grief and how you process it, you're more likely to realize that asking for support from friends, family, and a professional like a therapist isn't a sign of weakness but of humanity, Leaf said.

Isolating yourself, on the other hand, could lead to unprocessed emotions or unhealthy coping strategies like substance misuse, overworking, or becoming too invested in others' issues as an escape, McLaurin said.

Observe how emotions feel in your body

Processing your grief is easier said than done. But paying attention to bodily sensations when you're angry or sad can help, McLaurin said.

"The reality is, sometimes when you're feeling those feelings, when a thought pops up, you have to redirect yourself to and turn it off to actually feel whatever it is," they said.

They said that when a person feels, they often have thoughts at the same time, even if those thoughts aren't fact. If a person isn't aware of this, it can lead to a spiral effect where they believe their thought is true.

For example, when a person grieving the end of a romantic relationship feels sad, they might unconsciously think, "I could've done more to stop the breakup." In reality, they're telling themselves a story about their emotion based on past experiences, McLaurin said.

When you notice you're in a spiral of thoughts and emotions, McLaurin suggested asking, "What am I feeling? What is triggering this?" Then, understand your thoughts aren't always the truth.

Learn the difference between bad habits and healthy distractions

People who get stuck in their grief can also get wrapped in bad habits, like spending too much time alone, drinking too much, and busying themselves to the point of exhaustion, McLaurin said.

They said it was important to discern between healthy distractions, like going for a walk to get yourself out of bed, and bad habits, like depriving yourself of sleep so you don't have to feel.

"We all go through distressing situations on a daily basis," McLaurin said. "If you find those things are hard to let go of and are piling on top of one another, it's very likely that you aren't grieving properly."