Many individuals lose identity with grief. A loss limb, or a loss of a loved one that they identify with. A father or mother may no longer feel like a parent if they lost a child. Grief can transform one’s identify of self.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Program and see if it meets your needs. The Grief Counseling Training is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals.
There are numerous therapies to help children better communicate their grief. They can express through multiple outlets of creativity to help them express the grief and issues that haunt them. Counselors can help children through a variety of methods.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a grief counselor. Please also review AIHCP’s Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling Training
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Written by McKenzie Jones
Your whole life will suffer if you are not getting the right amount of sleep each night. Disrupted sleep schedules can affect both your physical health and your mental and emotional well-being. This is why it is so important to address any potential sleep disruptions and fix the problem before it becomes a serious issue. Here are five ways that you can regulate your sleep schedule so that you can get the rest that you need.
Your sleep and wake cycles are controlled by the body’s natural circadian rhythm. Without a well-functioning circadian rhythm, your body does not know when it is time to sleep and when it is time to be alert.
There are a number of things that you can do to promote a healthy circadian rhythm. Exposing your body to natural light when you wake up sends the signal to your brain that it is time to get energized. It is also a good idea to avoid taking naps. If you must take a daytime snooze, make it quick and do it early in the afternoon rather than later in the day. Being diligent about exercising regularly can also help to support your body’s internal clock so that it functions at optimal levels.
You will be able to fall asleep more quickly if you train your body by implementing a regular bedtime routine. Your personal needs and preferences will dictate your routine. Perhaps you want to start the process with a relaxing bath or a warm mug of herbal tea? Other people find success in dimming the lights and reading for a bit before trying to fall asleep.
Another good way to signal to your body that it is time to go to bed is to engage in a consistent skincare routine before turning in for the night. Nourishing your skin with nutrients and hydration should be a part of your nightly routine, prepping your body and your mind for a good night of sleep. The right products from Happy Healthy You will also leave you feeling refreshed and relaxed and ready to welcome a night of quality sleep.
Your smartphone or tablet habit may be hindering your ability to get the rest that you need. Smartphones, tablets, and computer screens all emit blue light. This light can negatively affect circadian timing.
In order to prevent this from happening, you should avoid blue light the hour or two before bedtime. Rather than reaching for your phone before closing your eyes, try reading a book instead. You should also be intentional about limiting the amount of artificial light around you in the evening hours.
You cannot expect to get a restful night of sleep if you do not have a comfortable sleeping environment. Taking active steps to make this as relaxing as possible can have a profound effect on the quality of sleep that you enjoy.
In addition to cozy bedding and a mattress suited for your needs, you also need to be mindful of sleep and light pollution. You may find that you sleep better if you invest in a good pair of blackout shades. A white noise machine can be instrumental in blocking out extraneous noise so that you sleep more soundly. Experiment with a few different tools to find what works best for you in your quest to sleep better.
What you drink in the hours before bed may also impact how quickly you fall asleep and if you are able to stay that way through the night. While you may fall asleep more quickly after a night of indulging in alcoholic drinks, the booze is also more likely to disrupt your rest and wake you up in the middle of the night.
Too much caffeine in the hours before bed can make you too wired to fall asleep. Reducing your consumption of both alcohol and caffeine starting in the late afternoon hours can prove beneficial in supporting healthy sleep patterns.
These five tips are all great ideas to help you to regulate your sleep schedule so that you wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day ahead.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals offers a full continuing education program leading to Certification as a Health Care Life Coach, you may preview our program by accessing this link.
ADHD Coaches and consultants can help a family deal with ADHD or help an individual learn to better cope with ADHD. While counseling professionals can earn an additional certification in ADHD Consulting, many individuals can become ADHD coaches who are not counselors. This is important to note.
The article, “Could an ADHD Coach Help Your Family?” by Sara Lindberg looks at the role of an ADHD Coach. She states,
“ADHD coaching is a relatively new idea. It’s important to be aware that there’s currently no formal regulation of the role, so technically, anyone can advertise themselves as an ADHD coach. At the same time, there are organizations that offer training and certifications. If you’re seeking a coach, it’s important to request their training and experience in order to know what qualifications they actually possess.”
To review the entire article, please click here
AIHCP also offers certification to professionals seeking a certification as an ADHD Consultant. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in ADHD Consulting. ADHD coaches do not necessarily have to possess a counseling license, but AIHCP ensures that individuals who do possess the certification have some type of professional and academic status.
Learning to integrate grief into life is critical to loss adjustment. Loss causes change and learning to incorporate that change is part of healthy grieving and adaptation. Those who struggle to incorporate grief into their life narrative struggle with life and suffer from complicated grief. It is important to always remember, the pain of loss will never leave because true love can never die, hence learning to live with the pain of loss is the key to life itself.
The article, “What Does It Mean to Integrate Grief?” from “What’s Your Grief” takes a closer look at how to integrate loss and grief in life. The article states,
“Integrated grief is grief that exists within your life, as an ongoing part of your life, without overwhelming or dominating your life. I know, at this moment that might feel unfathomable. But as you learn to carry the complex emotions of grief and you change your relationship with grief, slowly the chasm will close between grieving and ‘functioning’. ”
Please click here to review the entire article
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling.
Near Death Experience or NDE are mysterious and empirically unexplainable experiences individuals near death can experience. It is still a mystery as to if NDE is a proof for a metaphysical afterlife or a lack of current understanding of the brain and its unknown processes when responding to possible death. For now, they are accepted as something that is unexplainable and not to be connected with psychosis or any type of mental pathology but a legitimate experience some individuals face when dealing with death.
Near Death Experience or NDE has certain qualities associated with it that differentiate it from other mental states such as dreams or hallucinations. It NDE, there is an out of body experience that occurs, or a autoscopic episode. This episode is when one is unconscious and the trajectory if not corrected will lead to physical death. During this unconscious state, one can experience lucid visions outside one body. To qualify as an NDE, a 16 question survey must score at least a 7 in value.
Among the many questions include the level of consciousness one felt during the episode. Was the experience equal or greater than normal conscious behavior. This is a key element in differentiating from a dream state or a hallucination. During these states, individuals under anesthesia are able to comprehend things around their unconscious body that the brain should not be able to sense. This type of mental ability questions whether the soul is experiencing a metaphysical experience or if there is some unknown power of the brain yet known to science. Many who experience NDE are able to relate things regarding those around them while they were unconscious that the brain should not be able to observe or sense. In fact, the senses are even more acute and sharp during NDE. Blind individuals are able to see things in some studies, as well as individuals who can see but see more so in deeper colors and understanding than any mere human eyes. In other cases, NDE patients also understood the thoughts of others around them.
Science looks to explain some of these feelings and sensations when the body is in crisis. Russel Noyes, a famous psychiatrist, who researched NDE, pointed out that the body when in crisis experiences various adaptations. There is a sharp mystical awakening to more vivid images, as well as a depersonalization with emotion and a detachment. Also, there is a hyper-alertness with sharper vision and hearing that helps the person survive. Could these abilities be amplified near death?
Most who experience NDE, which is around 1/3rd who have close clashes with death, firmly believe it was a real experience. They return in many cases more peaceful and guided. They look to implement life changes and have less death anxiety itself. The experiences are also multi-cultural and do not differ between Western and Eastern religious codes. Even children with little predisposed religious ideals, experience the same and often beyond their natural understanding. Individuals who are not religious also share similar experiences.
During these religious experiences, many experience a calm and bright light, and in some cases see lost loved ones but others can experience nothingness or more frightful visions. Some see torture and hellish images. They experience upon their return a call for conversion or a scared traumatic response. Others try to explain it away.
Grief Counselors, or more so licensed professional counselors are needed to help individuals discuss and resolve their NDE experience. It is important that the counselor understand that it is not a pathology but to be on the look out for pathological reactions to the experience. Counselors also must be open to the individuals interpretation. Since there is no rational explanation, it may very well be metaphysical or also tied to unexplainable brain functioning that is firing off an array of visions that science cannot understand. It is critical to listen and accept the story of the individual with an NDR and how it relates to that particular individual.
Gaining the trust is key. Individuals, may think they are crazy, or noone will believe their story. It is important to reassure the patient that this is phenomenon is a real experience although unexplainable by science and that their visions are not crazy or pathological. It is essential to help the individual integrate the experience into their life story. Unless pathological reactions occur when extreme anxiety or dangerous new behaviors arise, the person should be encouraged to share and incorporate the experience into their life in a healthy way. There is no treatment since it is not a pathology itself and there is no true medication because the incident is beyond comprehension.
Those of belief may accept the experience as a religious experience. This is not pathological but acceptable. The reality is it may very well be a metaphysical experience beyond the scope of science and to marginalize it and categorize it against the will of the patient is counter productive. It is best to co-exist with the experience from wherever it came and allow it produce the healthy changes one needs in one life. Ultimately, there may be an explanation or it may be metaphysical, or it may be a mixture of both, but since they are universal and non pathological, it would be prudent to merely care more about how one reacts to the experience in counseling than to define it for the patient. How the patient defines it is the patient’s choice.
Death and dying is a mystery. It is the final chapter of observable existence. NDE is merely another element of it and how we see death beyond the grave and the many spiritual questions that burn within our mind and how our body reacts to death itself.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling.
Please also review AIHCP’s Pastoral Thanatology Program
Related Articles
“Near-Death Experiences Evidence for Their Reality” by Dr Jeffrey Long, MD
“Near-Death Experiences and Psychotherapy” by Dr Linda Griffith, MD
“Death Society and Human Experience” by David Kastenbaum, PHD
The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy are all essential works to love one’s neighbor perfectly both physically and spiritually. It is about helping others through life through acts of charity that follow the teachings of Christ. They are essential to living one’s faith.
Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Program and see if it meets your goals and needs both academically and professionally. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Christian Counseling.
Faith when radicalized can become unhealthy. Religion is a good thing for humanity. Even if not spiritual or religious, religious values helps create moral boundaries of good nature between people but when it is distorted it can become dangerous and a cause for war. Many use this as an argument against religion but the reality is religion is good but like anything, it can become corrupted by evil.
Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Christian Counseling
Sojourning requires walking with the bereaved and sharing in the journey. It involves empathy and compassion. It involves taking an active part in helping the person heal and making it a personal goal and desire for oneself.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling.
Hypnotherapy is a very misunderstood holistic therapy. With many images of stage hypnosis, it is no wonder many doubt its effective nature, however this is farther from the truth. Hypnotherapy under the guidance of a qualified professional can help one through deep trance and relaxation face past phobias, traumas and correct bad habits.
The article, “What is hypnotherapy really like?” by Suzanne Shenderey looks at the true nature of hypnotherapy and how it has helped many people. She states,
“Hypnosis as a healing tool has been seen in many cultures for centuries; ancient relics from Egypt depict something similar to hypnosis. Recounting the history of hypnosis in his book, Hidden Depths: The Story of Hypnosis, Robin Waterfield describes practices resembling the trance state used by Aboriginal Australian, Native American, and Hindu cultures. But in reality, these practices bear little resemblance to my work.”
To review the entire article, please click here
Please also review AIHCP’s Hypnotherapy Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Hypnotherapy.