The loss of a pet is a big loss. For years and years, people downgraded this loss and acted as if it was just a pet. People were told they are over reacting over a loss of a pet. Now, society is seeing such losses as big losses to individuals. Pets are like family and the bonds of love are just as strong. With such discussions, some ask if pet bereavement time is needed from employment. Should employers give an employee time away from work to properly grieve?
Saying good bye to a pet is like losing family for many. Pet bereavement is a possible need. Please also review our Pet Loss Grief Counseling Program
The article, “Can You Take An Extended Period Off Work After Your Pet Dies?” by Rebecca Reid looks closer at this. She states,
“Mixed in with the sympathetic responses to Lorde’s loss were the voices of those who found her raw misery unpalatable, because it was felt for a pet, not a person. But grief is a strange, complicated thing. It’s entirely possible to feel nothing when someone who you ‘should’ feel sad about dies, and a huge amount at the loss of someone strange”
Grief and loss do not always involve death. Losing anything is the recipe for grief. One of the most common forms of loss is divorce. Romantic breakups are tough but marriages that fail are even tougher. Marriage does not only involve the heart, but it also involves a sacred vow. The loss removes one from consistency of schedule and thrusts one into a new environment. Furthermore, the loss has many secondary losses associated with it. Financial burden, loss of possessions, less time with children or pets, as well as legal stress all play a large role in divorce.
Divorce loss is far more than just a broken heart but affects one’s entire existence. Please also review our Grief Counseling Program
This is why divorce is such a stressful and painful process. It is an uprooting of one’s life. It may be for the best, but the process of healing takes many years to finally become whole again.
The article,” 12 Strategies For Dealing With Grief After A Divorce” by Karen Finn looks deeper at the types of losses. She states,
“Dealing with grief after a divorce is no different. Nearly 50% of marriages (and 41% of first marriages) in the United States will end in divorce or separation. Divorce grief is, therefore, a high-odds reality.”
Veterans face a tough road with grief, anxiety and PTSD. The things soldiers see in war is sometimes traumatic and scarring to the individual soldier. Many soldiers do not receive the help they need. Instead they face many issues alone. It is important for them to meet with others, discuss and review traumatic events.
Soldiers face trauma and loss possibly everyday and have to deal with their entire life. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “7 WAYS GRIEF AFFECTS VETERANS” by Pat Harriman states,
“Researchers determined levels of grief, including preoccupation with a lost comrade and inability to accept the loss, through participants’ self-reported combat exposure, unit cohesion, PTSD symptoms, anger, past post-traumatic stress syndrome and depression diagnoses, and pre-deployment life events.”
Grief counselors and other specialists can help work with soldiers face these issues. There are so many issues under laying trauma that need to be exposed and discussed for proper healing. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification.
As the weather changes, so does our moods. This is especially true of those individuals who live farther North. With the settling of Winter, one’s energy levels lower in correlation with the shorter days. As night comes earlier and earlier, individuals are drained of post work energy and find themselves sleeping and relaxing more. This has negative effects on health. Exercise is essential not just for health but also one’s mental and emotional status.
The change of weather and darker days can lead to seasonal depression. The person may not experience any loss but still become clinically depressed
Colder and darker nights do have effects on moods. Seasonal depression can set in on these grey and dark days and nights. Less exercise, less light and less energy all play into the hands of seasonal depression. Seasonal depression spikes at a higher level after the Holidays. Many suffer from depression after the Holidays. The fun and excitement disappear and the return to regular regiment and life becomes the new norm. Add the somber weather and darkness, then one can see an emotional drop compounded with negative weather.
Individuals already dealing with stress and grief will have a more difficult trek but it can also effect others with no existing grief. Depression can be over nothing. It can be a mental state with no true loss. Seasonal and winter depression hence can strike those suffering from loss but also those who are merely struck with clinical depression merely due to the change of seasons, the end of the holidays, and the beginning of a cold and dark winter.
So we can look at two individuals suffering from season depression. The first person experienced recent loss and is under enormous stress. This person is not only dealing with the change of weather, lack of energy and darker days, but also bombarded with the loss and the stress that surrounds it. The person is trying to adjust to the loss especially as the holidays approach but this becomes completely impossible.
The first holidays without a loved one can be the most difficult and most depressing. It will in fact take many years before the holidays can be viewed with some slight excitement. The bereaved person will have to learn to adapt to future holidays without the loved one and also learn to incorporate new ways of commemorating the deceased. All of these things will take years and years, but until then, the first holiday without a loved one can be a dismal affair. In fact, there may be no celebration that year. Instead the person may remain alone or avoid festivities.
Many can fall into seasonal depression after the holidays. The lack of decor and excitement and return to normal routine can cause a sadness to the soul
Compounded by this, they will suffer from the seasonal weather and lack of longer days. The grey and cold will only illustrate what they feel inside. While coping, it is possible this person may enter into a type of depression.
The other individual has no reason for grief. He or she has not lost a loved one, but for whatever reason they feel a true emptiness. There is no explanation for his or her grief. The change of weather, lack of light and end of the holidays brings a barren and empty feeling. This individual suffers from a true clinical depression. There is no loss but the individual nonetheless feels empty.
So it is true that during the end of one year and the beginning of a new year, there can season depression. Some already suffering from loss may grieve more heavily and some may even fall into a depression. Others will suffer from an unexplained depression after the holidays. The change in season definitely plays a key role whether it is the cause or merely an enhancement. The reality is this time of year is harder than other times of year to deal with grief or even stress and for those even not dealing with these things merely due to the nature of the season, weather and climate.
This time of year is physically colder, damper and darker but also spiritually bright with so many cultural and spiritual holidays. Hence it can prey on both the grieving and merely mentally unhealthy.
Those who suffer due to no reason but only mental and emotional response to the change of seasons should actively seek help. Counselors can provide the needed guidance but sometimes others need the guidance of clinical counseling. These individuals suffering from clinical depression will need medication.
Those who are suffering loss or remembering lost loved ones will also grieve. They may need professional assistance as well but if not, they can in time learn to better cope and learn to remember the loved ones not present. They can learn to commemorate the loss and find some joy in the love that was shared through memory and stories.
Some who experience loss during this time, already suffer and the climate merely compounds and reflects their inner sadness.
During the seasonal change it is important for individuals to try to remain active. Gyms and other activities are key. Physical exercise drops considerably during this time span from November through February and individuals need to remain faithful to a schedule. They need to exercise not just for good physical health but also mental health.
Also, trying to make the winter months more special is key. Perhaps going to the movies, skating, or bowling are good ideas. Making a certain night a special night with family or friends to watch a favorite show or having a night out once a week to a restaurant. It is important to take joy in the little things when the weather and time of day light is not as giving.
This of course is difficult when suffering from clinical depression or remembering a loss, but with counseling and if needed, medication, one should attempt to find some good from these months and still enjoy the little things of life. Better coping strategies, exercise and doing little things can help one get through the darker and colder months. Physical and mental health should be a top priority in these months!
Grief Counselors can help others cope through these dark months, and in some cases, licensed counselors are needed for issues that require medication, but through acknowledgement and a firm resolution, one can fight through these darker and colder months and find enjoyment during and after the holidays despite loss and despite seasonal change.
Season grief plays a large factor in depression from November through February. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification program
If you would like to learn more about grief counseling or would like to become a certified grief counselor then please review the American Academy of Grief Counseling’s Grief Counseling certification program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.
Depression affects up to 20% and anxiety 10% of people with cancer, compared to 5% and 7%, respectively, of the general population – as per a 2018 study (by Alexandra Pittman), published in the British Medical Journal. Treating these mental conditions is vital, say researchers, because when they are ignored, both quality of life and survival, are reduced. Specific types of cancer (e.g. lung cancer) are thought to release specific chemicals which are tied into depression, while some treatments (such as chemotherapy) are also linked to this mental condition. Because antidepressant medications can interact poorly with some cancer treatments, health professionals are constantly on the lookout for natural ways to combat anxiety and depression, especially in mild-to-moderate cases. Among a small group of therapies (which includes yoga and mindfulness meditation), art creation is also proving powerful, as found in specific studies.
Art Therapy Can Reduce Pain and Anxiety in Cancer Symptoms
A study (by researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital) published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management found that art therapy could quell a wide array of symptoms related to pain and anxiety in patients with cancer. The study involved 50 patients at Northwestern Memorial, who took part in the study for four months. During this time, said scientists, art therapy distracted patients from their disease, enabling them to focus on a positive activity they felt in control of. At the end of the study period, patients found that eight out of nine symptoms in the ESAS (Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale) were reduced. These included depression, anxiety, drowsiness, shortness of breath, and poor appetite. The only symptom on the scale that was not alleviated, was that of nausea.
Art Therapy is Easy, Cost-Effective and Powerful
Art can essentially be practiced by people of all ages – not only those with talent. The advent of new digital technologies mean that the average tech user has many devices at hand that can help them create beautiful artworks. Those into pencil drawing, meanwhile, can find numerous tutorials on drawing faces, figures, and even nature forms – all with just a click or two of their tablet or smartphone. Therefore, art creation can extend to beyond the works created in a formal therapeutical setting. Art can become a hobby that fervent creators can get ‘lost in’ as they seize the present moment and use it to express their current thoughts and emotions.
Art Therapies and Cancer Carers
A study undertaken this year by scientists at Drexel University found that in the battle against cancer, art therapy can help those who care for those who are ill. This is true whether or not the carer is a professional – such as a nurse – or a loved one of the person battling the disease. The researchers stated that families and oncology professionals can experience negative effects while caring for someone who is ill – including compassion fatigue, not having enough time to self-care, and (in the case of family) financial concerns. In the study, a total of 34 caregivers enjoyed 45 minutes of art therapy, creating art and discussing its significance afterwards. Before and after each session, participants were given surveys to report positive and negative feelings (including stress and anxiety). After art therapy, they expressed increases in enjoyment and positivity, and a decrease in negative emotions.
Research has shown that art therapy can help cancer patients battle anxiety and depression. Art has also been found to be beneficial to carers, who can face significant stress when a patient or loved one is diagnosed with cancer. Art is increasingly being used to boost the quality of life of cancer patients, and reduce the stress associated with the disease itself and its treatment.
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program in online and independent study and open to qualified professionals.
The loss of nature and ecological destruction plays a large role on humanity. Individuals suffer from the devastation and grieve the loss of what was once. These types of losses of beauty as well as climate problems cause distress. This type of grief and anxiety is ecological grief.
Ecological grief is a true loss that we suffer as a society. Please also review our Grief Counseling training program
For instance, some may fear the loss of beauty found in the rain forest or the coral reef. The beauty but also the instrumental role they play in our climates are a twofold loss of what we all experience with their destruction.
The article, “How to cope with the grief that comes with the world’s ecological crisis” by John Sharry looks into this type of loss. He states,
“Many of those working within the environmental charities describe their heartbreak and grief at the loss of the natural world. This is the natural world which is not only beautiful in its own right but it is the world on which we entirely depend on as humans. For communities on the frontline of the climate emergency this grief is much more acute and threatening.”
ADHD sometimes requires medication. Medication can take away the symptoms and help control the situation but usually comes with side effects or higher cost. Some with ADHD can utilize low risk coping strategies that can help them live with and operate successfully with ADHD.
Learning to cope with ADHD without medication is possible for some. Please also review our ADHD Consulting program
The article, 4 No-Risk, Non-Drug ADHD Treatments Ideal for Entrepreneurs, by Dave Kerpen illustrates how individuals can deal with ADHD in less evasive ways. He states,
“Before making any medical decisions for yourself or others, consult your doctor. Ask whether the following ADHD treatment alternatives might help you maintain your focus without the risks associated with pharmaceuticals:”
ADHD Consultants can help their clients deal with ADHD symptoms and in some cases guide them through the symptoms without medication. Please also review our ADHD Consulting Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.
Meditation is key to a good spiritual life. It is critical in almost every spiritual and religious tradition. It is found in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, as well as all the Eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism and its many offshoots. It is found also in smaller religious sects and groups.
Meditation is an attempt spiritually to become closer to God. In Eastern traditions, this is an attempt to become unified with God as one substance, while in the Christianity and the West, its purpose is a communion between two separate agents. This is critical to understand. Even though meditation is about becoming closer to the divine, these two routes can take individuals down two different spiritual paths
Despite this, meditation shares many common traits among world religions. Meditation is personal and spiritual. Meditation is not usually a religious ceremony within the community but is a singular spiritual experience. It is a beyond the communal connections and social obligations of one’s faith. Meditation is hence very personal and the success of those who practice it depend on their spiritual levels of awareness.
Meditation is found in many religious traditions. it is a mental and singular form of prayer that looks for closer union with the divine
Another important element of Meditation is its mental nature. Unlike vocal prayer, whether communal or singular, meditation is quiet prayer. It is reflective and looks to engage the divine in a way to communicate at a more subconscious level. It looks for quiet and peace to better hear the divine and to help the soul form a greater and more intimate union with the divine.
In attempting to find that quiet, the conscious mind must choose to enter into the meditative state. In the East, there are many spiritual practices and physical postures that attempt to free the soul from temporal distractions. The meditative trance is induced through quiet, postures and various practices to free the soul from the body. In the West, there is less emphasis on postures and definitely a rejection of any astral projection. Instead, there is more emphasis on the divine as a being and how one interacts. This is usually accomplished through private prayer and reflection on scriptures and images of the divine to inspire piety and spiritual excitement in the soul.
Meditation hence is a spiritual exercise for private devotion to inspire a closer union with the divine through mental and quiet prayer. If you would like to learn more about meditation or would like to become Meditation Instructor, then please review our Meditation Instructor Program. The program is more Eastern based and helps individuals gain the knowledge and expertise needed to help others in the area of meditation.
Individuals who are spiritual and wish to expand their knowledge can utilize the certification in their private practices, but also yoga instructors, and other holistic care givers can incorporate meditation into their practice. Some healthcare professionals also like to utilize meditation as well as hypnosis and other elements to give peace to their patients.
Despite being spiritual in nature, meditation also has many mental and physical benefits. Meditation Instructors can help others lean of these benefits
Meditation instructors are also in demand within the business world. With higher level of stress and the lower correlation of productivity associated with stress, employers are looking to gain every advantage against it. They look to hire stress manager consultants as well as meditation instructors to teach their employees how to manage stress and remain peaceful and calm.
So as we can see, meditation has more than simple spiritual ramifications but also many business and overall health issues. This gives one with a certification in Meditation Instruction, the unique ability to offer one’s services to a variety of outlets within the spiritual as well as secular world.
Whether one employs classical Western meditation or Eastern meditation, the need and urge for humanity to reconnect with the divine at a closer level is an innate necessity. Meditation Instructors can play a key role in helping others learn to meditate and utilize the numerous benefits of it. Please review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.
In life there are a few constants, unfortunately, death and loss is one. While one plans one’s day and deals with stress and daily plans, no one ever really thinks about a death that may occur. Life can change quickly at a moments notice and one discovers soon how fragile life truly is. What was the biggest issue of the week suddenly becomes minute and small compared to a loss or the death of a loved one. It puts one into a proper proportion of what matters most. Some individuals should learn from this from others and understand how important the lives they share with others matters.
Grief and loss can suddenly change life’s plans in a heartbeat. Please also review our Grief Counseling Training Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals
The article, “You Can Plan For Everything, But Grief” by Tracey Wallace discusses various lives that were forever changed by loss. She states,
“After months of intense grief, a year later Phil now loves going home to their house. He’s even started dating a bit again. And while the grief has become more manageable, he still learns new insights every day about just how special he and Alan’s connection really was.”
To read the entire article, please click here
It is truly terrifying to see how lives can change through loss but it is also amazing to see how people fight back and cope and continue their lives despite the loss. One’s life will never be the same but it does not mean one’s life is over. It is altered but never over.
The holidays always play a big part in our lives. Some happy, some not so happy. Stress, loss and grief can unfortunately play a larger part than joy and peace. If grieving a loss, it is natural to experience the holidays differently than before. Individuals vary in how they will respond to the loss. Some may seek to keep tradition while others may need time to return to past traditions. There really is no true answer.
Grief during the holidays is especially painful. Please also review our Grief Counseling Training program and see if it meets your academic needs
Instead, one must navigate the holidays as best one’s ability. Grief will be present if the first holiday without a loved one but over time, it does improve. The loss never vanishes, but other ways to celebrate or even remember become possible. Others may learn how to better handle stress through a few tips.
The article, “Navigating the Holidays with Grief” by Laura Wade looks at how one can better cope with grief during the holidays. She states,
“It takes five to eight years to move through the emotions of a significant loss,” Boyd shares. “Holidays compound the feelings of loss since it is a time of connection and family. It is also a reminder the loved one is not there. Holidays are already an emotional time, especially if being together and focused on family was important to your loved one.”
Holidays should be taken gently and easily during the first years of loss. Only time can ease the sharp pain of loss. It is also important to remember friends and family during these times who may be grieving a loss. Sometimes a simply hello can mean the world to an individual who is still grieving a significant loss during the holidays.
If you would like to learn more about grief counseling or would like to become a certified grief counselor, then please review our Grief Counseling Training Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.
