Young people in general have a difficult time talking about death. The invincible attitude is all too strong in their emotional being. College kids are among the most immune to thoughts of death with a future far ahead. Many are only starting to experience loss in general with the grandparents, or aging parents for the first time. This can lead to avoiding discussions that surround grief and loss.
The thought of loss and death can be very far from the minds of college students
The article, “Grief tough topic for college students” by Christian Cambron discusses this reality on college campuses. The article states,
“The words, “death, dying and dead” are more often spoken in passing or in a joke than with serious and thoughtful sympathy. This phenomenon is even more concentrated on college campuses, where grief can present an added layer of stress with no real outlet.”
Great discussion on the dangers of the holidays for those suffering from substance abuse. Addicted individuals who are trying to stay away from drinking find it extra hard during the holidays not to drink. Parties, others drinking and sometimes depression can all lead to drinking scenarios or other drugs. It is important to be mindful of family who suffer from substance abuse in planning parties. Have alternative options available for them and try to avoid putting them in tempting situations if possible.
Substance Abuse and the Holidays is a bad partner for many. Please also review our Substance Abuse Counseling Certification
The article, “Holidays a dangerous time for those with substance abuse” by Pam Bordelin states,
“Alcohol remains the most abused substance, with more than 15 million Americans suffering from alcohol use disorder. But quickly gaining ground are opioids. Officials have declared an opioid epidemic, a statement backed up by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. According to CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield, it’s the “public health crisis of our time.”
Good article on dealing with stress on the other side of the counter as a customer clerk this holiday season. Customer service may be the most stressful job during the Holidays or any time. One needs to control their stress and issues from home to properly help the customer. Many need stress reducing techniques to effectively deal with the stress.\
Holiday stress of customer service. Please also review our Stress Management Certification
The article, “7 Tips for Managing Customer Complaints and Stress This Holiday Season” by Joseph Michelli looks into this issue. The article states,
“It’s crunch time for retail! The holiday season may bring out the best in humanity but holiday shopping can also bring out the worst. We’ve all seen the “Black Friday Brawls” as shoppers play tug-of-war with the last doorbuster sales item.”
A sense of peace is important for any home. Spirituality in the home is also key to a peaceful place. Finding and creating a spiritual place can be as simple as reconnecting with nature with various plants, or peaceful lighting, but can also involve a sanctum. You can create a room dedicated to God with icons, statues, or other religious artifacts according to your faith. You can also just keep it simple with a place to prayer with various religious books, including the Bible.
Find a place to pray and become at peace with God and spirituality. Please also review our Spiritual Counseling certification
The article, “Influencers And Entrepreneurs Share How To Establish A Spiritual Space In Your Home” by Amanda Lauren lists way business individuals utilize spirituality in their life and find a spot in their home for spiritual thought. The article states,
Connecting to your highest self feels good, it also has other benefits. Meditation and mindfulness for example can boost your business.Those who have integrated spirituality into their daily routines often practice at homes in spaces they have established for this purpose. Design ultimately takes on a greater meaning beyond aesthetics in these rooms.
National tragedies from natural disasters to shootings are hard for the collective national well-being. They bear down on millions of people creating a hybrid of emotions that affect everyone from rage to sadness. Collectively, an anxiety exists in America of where and when the next national tragedy will occur. Almost weekly, an unnecessary and devastating shooting occurs where innocent individuals die. This ultimately has an affect on Americans.
National tragedies can cause collective grief. Please also review our Grief Counseling Training
First, Americans are affected collectively. They are saddened by the death of innocent people and also enraged at injustice of these incidents. This leads many in collective national grief to expressing themselves politically and publicly. The nation seeks answers but also grieves. Everyone grieves differently and activism is a major venue for many Americans to voice their grief, anger and frustration.
Besides the collective grief and therapeutic methods to combat this national grief, many Americans also experience this grief on a personal level. New fears emerge within everyone. Whether at worship, school, or shopping, the fear of a masked gunman is always in the back of the mind of Americans. This anxiety associated with this national grief is something that all Americans must face. Some Americans will deal with this anxiety by closing themselves up, or others will be proactive and always be vigilant and alert. Other Americans will look to arm themselves to regain that loss sense of security that has been stolen.
Whether through activism for better gun control laws, or through utilizing one’s right to bear arms to defend oneself, the psychological reaction to national grief and tragedy will have profound effects on how Americans cope with these continuing losses.
Of course, the ultimate reality is those who experience these losses directly, whether a survivor of an attack, or a family member who loss a loved one in an attack. Survivors will face a multitude of issues associated with grief, ranging from PTSD to survivor guilt. The attack will be replayed in their minds constantly. What could I have done differently? Or I should have died not my friend! These thoughts will all become thoughts tormenting the survivor. Some survivors will also deal with secondary losses, such as an injury that will haunt them for the rest of their lives, or be tormented mentally with flashbacks from the traumatic event. The road to recovery for a survivor of a shooting is not an easy one indeed
As for family members, a myriad of grief thoughts will cross through their mind. Not only is the loss unexpected, but it is also traumatic and illogical. These family members will face years of torment and second guessing on “why”? This is not an easy fix for these family members either. They will undoubtedly undergo profound changes and look to cope with grief years after in different ways.
After the initial sting, depression and complications of such a horrible loss, family members may look to remember or try to create better laws to try to make some sense for the illogical and unexplainable loss of their loved one.
Bad things can happen and how we handle it is what matters most. Please review our Grief Counseling Training
We already see this anger and coping towards social ills and bad laws by family members in the news, as many of them, as well as survivors, become public figures for gun control laws. This in many ways is the new role they have inherited and a way to make sense out of chaos and remember the lost of their loved one. Whether misdirected or a good idea, gun control laws will remain a central theme in these shootings. Whether it is better control of gun sales, or better laws against those who misuse guns, the public and political spotlight becomes for both sides a way to push an agenda. Sometimes, individuals who are victims of these crimes will use this as a way to heal, while unfortunately many others may be used by various lobbyists to further agendas.
Despite the national grief and agendas, those who suffer these crimes will have a hard and steep uphill battle in dealing with their grief. It will not be an easy journey but one that is necessary in healing and also understanding their new chapter in life. It is a chapter they will not want but a chapter they nonetheless will need to read. As a nation we need to read it with them and help them.
If you are interested in learning more about Grief Counseling Training or would like to become certified in Grief Counseling, then please review the program and see if it matches your academic and professional needs.
Good article about alternative therapies to help with pain management. Pain management has many conventional methods but new alternative methods are helping patients find relief. Aromatherapy and others are but an example of new ways to fight pain. These new ways give healthcare professionals other options to help their patients.
Aromatherapy is a new alternative for some pain management. Please also review our Holistic Nurse Certification
The article, “How Aromatherapy and Reflexology Are Changing Approaches to Pain Management” by Lisa Blackburn discusses this topic and how it can be utilized. The article states,
“FOR SOME CANCER patients, those who are treated with brachytherapy, the pain and anxiety that accompanies treatment can be significant. Brachytherapy is used to treat cancers that occur deep within the body, such as cervical or prostate cancer. For this treatment, the radiation source is positioned very close to the tumor itself in order to maximize the radiation dose to the cancer while decreasing exposure to normal body tissues.”
It is a true testament of love when we see the bond between man and wife. When one spouse dies before the other, the pain and suffering endured through the separation can literally break the heart of the grieving. In many cases, in older couples especially, we see the following spouse die months later.
Older couples sometimes die in relative close periods of time due to broken heart. Please also review our Grief Counseling Program
The article, “George H.W. Bush Died Less Than 8 Months After His Wife of 73 Years. Doctors Explain Why That’s So Common” by Jamie Ducharme looks at why how George Bush died shortly after his wife and how it follows an all too common pattern of widows and widowers. The article states,
Experts say the emotional devastation of losing a life partner can also take a toll, sometimes even causing a potentially deadly condition commonly known as broken-heart syndrome (or by its medical name, takotsubo cardiomyopathy).
To learn more about death and dying, as well as becoming a certified Grief Counselor, please review our program. Our Grief Counseling Program can help prepare qualified professionals to help others going through loss and grief.
Short article on how Christians should face the death of a loved one. Christians are not immune to grief and loss but share a special bond with Christ in suffering. Christ alleviates our crosses by helping us carry them because he experienced suffering himself. Through this unique bond, the Christian can offer all loss and pain to Christ who in turn can offer it to the Father. Grief has the potential to be a transforming event in a Christian’s life like all suffering. It can retain spiritual value when tied to Jesus Christ.
Christians grieve no differently emotionally but spiritually through Christ they can offer it to God
The article, “How Should Christians Approach the Death of a Loved One?” by Megan Bailey investigates closer how Christians deal with the death of a loved one. The article states,
The pain of a loved one is something we all must face at some point in our lives. While grief is an expected response to a significant loss, the unfamiliar emotions that arise can lead to feelings of helplessness, fear and isolation. As Christians, we can find hope in God and use Him as a source of comfort.
Suicide is a messy thing. It is filled with multiple emotions of loss and despair, but what modern science teaches is that is most of the time an illness. Someone does not simply wish to end his or her life with a clear head. It is because of this and many other factors that cloud judgement that many churches have removed the stigma of suicide itself. Suicide while a horrible thing must not be shelved away but discussed in the open and understood a decision based upon mental illness. If so, we as a society can move forward and deal with suicide survivors, as well as family survivors of a successful suicide of a loved one.
The choice of suicide is a result of a mental imbalance that leaves everyone in tears.
The article, “Opinion: Talk about suicide, end the stigma” by Natalie Sept looks closer at suicide and how it can no longer be seen simply as a rational choice but more so as a decision based in intense emotional instability. It is time to stop treating it as a stigma and face it head on and recognize the surrounding demons of it. The article states,
“When I received the news recently of his suicide, there was something in me that knew it would end this way. Jay struggled with addiction. Our family watched nervously as his jovial disposition became clouded with the pall of substance abuse that eventually pulled him into an irreversible decision.”
Extending medical aid that is affordable and even covered is essential to the dignity of any American. It entitles the American the care he or she needs in addressing comfort and peaceful transition in death. Voters this election clearly cared about medical and end of life issues in their support of healthcare friendly candidates.
End of Life Care should not only be available for the wealthy. Please also review our Pastoral Thanatology Program
The article, “The Growing Acceptance of Medical Aid in Dying” by Kim Callinan illustrates this necessity and call for better healthcare to the dying. The article states,
“While expanding and protecting health care was the number-one issue for voters on Nov. 6, what has gone unreported is that elected officials can now safely run on the issue of expanding and protecting end-of-life care options. For decades, lawmakers feared that sponsoring medical aid-in-dying bills that would allow terminally ill adults to have the option to peacefully end their suffering would harm their chances of getting re-elected. This year’s elections proved those concerns false.”
