Depression and anxiety during and after pregnancy is not uncommon for women. Many women suffer from this due to the many physical, emotional and mental changes that occur, especially the chemical changes within the body. It is not something to be ashamed of or not spoken but addressed.
Many women face depression during pregnancy. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “Addressing Taboo Topics: Anxiety and Depression During Pregnancy” by Elle Kehres looks at this issue that some women face during pregnancy. She states,
“Depression that occurs during pregnancy, or within a year after delivery, is called Perinatal Depression. While many women have a variety of mood symptoms in the aftermath of delivery, Kimmel said 80 percent of women feel Postpartum Blues or “Baby Blues” for a short time. However, these symptoms usually subside one to three weeks after delivery and should not be mistaken for Postpartum Depression.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification. Qualified professionals can apply and earn a four year certification. The program is online and independent study.
Interesting look at the lack of collective grief in some areas of the nation over the immense loss from COVID. While some areas collectively understand the grief the nation is facing, other areas do not. Collective grief is important as a nation when disaster strikes, to identify loss and come together.
The pandemic and its damage to society does not equal the collective outcry of grief that it should so far. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “More Than 250,000 Are Dead. Why Is There So Little Collective Grief?” by Corrine and Erik Ofgang look at the number of dead due to COVID and ask why society is not grieving enough over this in the USA. They state,
“A large portion of the population believes the falsehoods that the virus is a hoax or the numbers of dead are inflated, and grief itself has become politicized with some worrying that too much focus on rising death counts will discourage economic recovery. But these factors alone can’t explain the lack of collective response.”
With lack of many visuals of the death, society may not also be recognizing the dangers. To read the entire article, please click here
Please also review The American Academy of Grief Counseling’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.
Celebrating the Holidays while grieving is a difficult paradox. It is a time of spiritual and social renewal when families come together to celebrate religious and family traditions, but it also can be a time of great pain for the grieving who have recently lost a loved one.
For many, the holidays can be a painful time because of a recent loss of a loved one
The contradiction of joy and grief in one time and space is confusing to the bereaved and can lead to a myriad of raw emotions. Emotions of regret, guilt, anger, and intense sadness. Memories of past holidays and the love and good times shared are very present and raw in the emotional heart. These memories resurface for even grievers years after, but are far more present and graphic for recent grievers.
This can lead grievers during the Holidays to avoid celebration or even withdraw from family life for the season. This is not necessarily a bad thing for a person who has lost a loved one recently. This is especially true if the lost is within the calendar year and this is the first Holiday season without the deceased.
Many may withdrew the first Christmas from social gatherings to mourn the loss of a loved one
It is important to allow the individual to express his or her grief in solace and silence if necessary. It is important to give the griever the space one needs to deal with the lost in one’s own way. It would be unwise to force traditions or gatherings upon this individual.
Likewise, if a griever chooses to be around family and friends and wishes to celebrate, it is wise to gently accommodate the needs of the person with sensitivity and kindness. Ultimately, the griever must choose the path that is best for the griever. Nothing should be forced, refused or restricted.
The biggest thing one can do for the griever during the Holidays is to check on them and be there to listen. Listening is the greatest gift and simply checking in. Whether that is through a call, or by leaving a cookie trey, or a simple card. These small gestures carry weight and can help the griever through these difficult times. Avoidance is the worst thing anyone can do for the griever. A balance and discretion are required to know how much to say or how much to do.
One cannot know the first Holiday season if the griever is naturally experiencing grief in its raw form or pathologically and this is why checking in and listening is so critical in helping the bereaved. In time, the secluded bereaved may become more present during the Holidays. They may seek other family and friends and wish to again immerse themselves in traditions, dinners and gift exchange. Or, they may seek to find new traditions, or even wish to commemorate the deceased.
These are healthy advances in any direction. They show a respect for the past, a continuation in the presence and hope for the future. Old traditions may end or they may not, or new traditions will emerge after the death of the deceased, but ultimately, individuals who lose a loved one learn how to incorporate the loss of a loved one into the current and future Holidays. No story is the same and not outcome is right or wrong. The way Holidays are celebrated after the loss of a loved one are never the same afterwards emotionally but that does not mean they do not continue into new ways.
Holiday depression due to loss is common and everyone will experience it in life. Please also review AICHP’s Grief Counseling Certification program
Losing a loved one is traumatic any day of the year. Whether it is during the Holidays or before, there will be emotional grief reactions. These reactions will always exist no matter the year, but they become less intense each year. This is not to say the pain is erased and the love vanishes, it just means that people adjust and adapt to loss and learn how to cope with it, even during the Holidays.
If you would like to learn more about the process of grief, please review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training Program. Qualified professionals can apply and become certified in Grief Counseling.
Grief that transfers to work from home can be counter productive to the office or work place, but it is a natural occurrence and managers must be aware. Managers can help limit the issue by actually addressing it and helping employees deal with grief. Support and understanding are key elements in helping an employee function at work while dealing with grief.
Grief follows employees to work. Helping employees with grief is important. Please also review AICHP’s Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “How To Help Others Manage Grief: 16 Lessons For Business Leaders” from Forbes, looks to address the issue of helping employees deal with grief. The article states,
“Working through feelings of grief and mourning with your team can not only improve everyone’s mental health and overall satisfaction, but can also provide valuable insights to help you become a better leader. Below, the members of Forbes Coaches Council share 16 important lessons that business leaders can learn from the principles of grief management.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see how it can help you learn more about grief or progress within your professional career. Understanding grief in the work place is a critical leadership quality that needs to be utilized especially during the pandemic.
Miscarriage loss is many times a loss suffered alone. It is disenfranchised and belittled at times because the child was not born. Pending on the time period of the miscarriage, determines the greater loss but many women regardless feel a special connection and their bodies react to the loss.
Miscarriage grief is a lonely road for many women. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training
The article, “11 things you should know about grief after miscarriage or baby loss” from Asiaone looks at this type of loss in greater depth. The article states,
“The aftermath of losing a baby during pregnancy is haunting. You have your precious baby inside you — and then the world comes to a halt, when you learn you’ve lost that part of you. There are very few words to explain the depth of despair that a woman goes through as she grapples with this devastating loss.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training to learn more how to help individuals with loss. Trained certified grief counselors can help those deal with the loss of miscarriage and guide them through the pain
Learning how to understand and explore grief itself helps one understand the nature of life and loss. Those who run from it will never be able to adapt to it and will find their lives always lacking. It is important in grief counseling in many ways to eventually embrace grief when the person is ready to accept the reality of loss and how loss is part of his or her life.
Grief Counselors help others embrace and accept their grief in order to build a bridge from the past to the future. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “Introducing Grief: How My Clients and I Have Embraced the Exploration of Loss” by Stephen Gribelevich looks at the nature of loss and how he works with others through their loss. He states,
Often, when a client of mine identifies with the experience of complicated grief, they endorse persistent feelings of loss without a corresponding process of connection to life beyond the loss. Moreover, they often express a chronic doubt in the possibility of meaningful discovery during examination of their grief. Complicated grief often drives a person to fixate on certain associations of loss and to avoid other associations, which can make it difficult for one to do the kind of thoughtful narrative work inherent in the grief process.
Depression can encompass the entire self. Eventually, a person sees themselves described as a depressed person. They are seen as an “eyeore” type personality. One cannot be defined by depression and allow their personality to be defined as it but they need to receive the help they need to better cope and regain their identity. How one feels should not define who one is.
Depression can overtake one’s identity. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals
The article, “Depression Is the Ultimate Identity Thief” by Dr Michael Friedman looks at identity and depression. He states,
“We start to lose faith in ourselves and our identity becomes connected with depression. We think of ourselves as a “depressed person” rather than someone who suffers from depression. Add to that the fact that our social relationships and work performance suffers and we assume that we are “not good at relationships” or “not a strong performer.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online, independent study and open to qualified professionals.
During mass social grief, it is important for leaders to show leadership in grief. This involves in addressing the loss, looking for ways to help others cope with the loss and offering ways to adjust to the loss. Leadership in corporations, government even to the smallest unite of the family, needs good leadership from individuals in time of grief and loss to reassure, help and inspire.
Crisis and grief define leaders. Leadership in grief helps others find purpose and reassurance to rise above it without ignoring the problem. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “Grief leadership in time of crisis” by Jitender Girdhar looks at how leaders during crisis and grief can take a leadership role in helping others through it. The article states,
“Grief leadership is about leading people, whether or not they’re your friends, employees, or a nation, through experiences of sadness, trouble, and grief. Grief leadership is, essentially, resilient people leadership.”
In times of crisis and pandemics, leadership is needed. Not only to lead but to also assure and help cope with the loss. A leader needs to not ignore the issue but embrace it. Acknowledging the issue but reassuring the multitude of victory is essential
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.
Miscarriages are a forgotten grief for many parents. The loss of the child is seen not as a child in some cases but only as what if. The reality of the what if and the fear of not having a child incurs a reality of a loss but also a loss of potentials. Many barren families suffer multiple miscarriages and suffer horrible grief over the loss and inability to have a child born. Unfortunately, there is no grave, there is no funeral and there is no way to express the loss formally.
Miscarriages are sometimes the forgotten grief by society. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification Program
The article, “WHAT FOUR MISCARRIAGES TAUGHT ME ABOUT GRIEF AND FAITH” by Rebecca Abbot looks at his type of disenfranchised loss. She states,
“Miscarriage has been – and is often still – considered a taboo subject. “One of the reasons why miscarriage and fertility issues in general are taboo or still have stigma around them is because anything related to fertility just feels very intimate and deeply personal,” Adriel explains. “It’s involving the body, our hearts, our dreams. It’s involving our minds, our preconceived ideas of the role of women and men and family, and how we imagine our lives.”
While the Five Stages of Grief are an excellent look at how individuals deal with death and loss, they may not apply to every individual. In fact, individuals grieve through different stages and face grief different ways. This is not to discredit the stages proposed by Kubler Ross but more so to address to grief counselors, that it is not always the way.
Grief is not always tucked away into neat steps and processes. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your goals
The article, “Five Things You Should Know About the ‘Five Stages of Grief’” by Eleanor Haley from the site “Whats Your Grief” reviews how one should understand the stages. She states,
“The five stages of grief are not absolute truth. Like all theory, it’s based on a hypothesis (an educated guess). There is a bit of research to support the theory, but there is also a bit of research to contradict the theory. In reality, other grief models may fit your experience exponentially better than the ‘Kubler-Ross Model’.”
While Kubler Ross theory and stages are valuable, one must understand they are not always linear as well as many steps are repeated. One should not dismiss it in grief and loss but one should also be free to wander from it when needed. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your needs and goals.
