Grief and Loss is a not just about your reaction to the death of a loved one. Grief can happen when you suffer the loss of someone who has significance for you by other means than death such as when a close friend moves away or you are divorced. Grief can affect you when you lose something such as if as a child your precious bicycle was stolen or later on in life you are made redundant. It is a big subject so for convenience I have divided it into six sections with the second, The Stages of Grief, being at least twice and even more than five times the length of other sections.
As always, take your time, reflect on what you read and relate it to your own experiences. Reread sections – sometimes a few times one after another and sometimes at intervals.
Grief and loss is an important issue in your life and yet very little is talked or taught about it. As a result, when it happens it invariably comes as a shock that can result in bewilderment, confusion, loss of self-confidence and even emotional and physical breakdown. This is a major cause of stress though when you are going through grief you may not recognise it as such. Understanding may come later when you have recovered.
Revisiting painful memories, even those you have not thought of for years can cause a resurgence of emotion, so do not be surprised if this session becomes heavily emotionally charged. Remember, tears can be a powerfully helpful release mechanism.
Pause for Thought before you move on.
Do you have the time to do this now?
You need more than five minutes. Preferably an hour or two.
Are you relaxed and in a receptive mood?
Do not start if you might be distracted by events or have other things on your mind. Sort them out first.
Do not start if you are tired or it is getting close to bed-time.
Is your notebook handy?
Jot down something about the memories that come, even though they may seem inconsequential at the time.
Do you have some tissues handy?
Expect to need them.
Do you need to do the neck and breathing exercises?
Do them before you start and maybe have a break and do them again during this session.
Now go!