Coping with Grief and Loss During the Holidays The holidays can be difficult for those dealing with grief and loss. This loss may have been recent, or it could have taken place a long time ago. Your loss may be from a death. However, your loss could be from people who are alive, but are…
How to Circle the Drain of Caregiving and Come Out Sparkly Clean When you look at your loved one and wish that you could share – and sometimes take away – the intense pain that they’re feeling, you have officially arrived at the title of caregiver. The good news is that in order to receive…
There are no stages of grief for those dealing with the death of a loved one! When I was back in grad school in the late 80’s, we received minimal training on grief. There was one elective class called ‘Death and Dying’. Other than that, we were taught about Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ 5 Stages of Grief.…
The essence of healing is connection – first, to yourself. Then, to others. Your human nature directs you to seek bonding. You are, biologically and neurologically, wired for this. Unfortunately, when carrying unhealed trauma, you could seek harmful connections because you’re disconnected from yourself. Trauma is that very separation from the body and emotions.- Gabor…
How to Check your Self Worth in Two Minutes: Complex Trauma, Safety, and Radical Empathy Complex trauma has earned its name for being just that: layered, invasive helplessness. It can feel like too much weight to bear or to survive. See if this helps: picture an ant carrying an elephant uphill. This type of struggle…
Life is full of stresses that seem to impede the very essence of life. Different people have different means of dealing with these stresses. There are times, however, that average measures can only achieve so much. It is in times like these that the services of a professional therapist are needed. The typical average measures…
People who are new to therapy often have the expectation as if the therapist has a manual to step 1, 2, 3 to teach the client what to do to “get rid of my depression, sadness, or anxiety”. However, the process of therapy is not as clearly laid out with manuals that therapists were taught…
I decided to support a friend at an AA meeting for the first time during COVID. I have to admit that it felt eerie when I first entered the room. Nothing like how it used to be before the pandemic. After all, all who were inside were desperately in need of psychological resuscitation. However, when…
Self care is the ultimate buzz word in therapy. We are bombarded with reminders to practice self care as a coping skill, to decrease stress, to recharge our batteries. But what actually constitutes self care? Visions of spa days and yoga classes come to mind, but seem out of reach for a typical day as…
Grief is a natural response to loss–both universal and personal. Individual grief can vary depending on the nature of the loss and can be caused by the death of a loved one, ending of a relationship, loss of a job or independence, diagnosis of an illness, etc. Grief is a strong, sometimes overwhelming emotion that…