Children have a hard time understanding death depending on how young they are. Some children do not see death as permanent. It takes time for them to fully comprehend that once something or someone dies they do not come back. Pets because of shorter life spans teach children the circle of life faster than a family death.
Children learn about death from a simple goldfish to the more painful loss of a dog or a cat. They are able to learn the nature of death and how to grieve. Pets teach children so many things and death is among one of the most important life lessons a pet can give a child.
Pets teach children about empathy, love and responsibility. Unfortunately with all love comes loss and pets also teach children about death. This may be painful but is a useful life lesson. Please also review our Pet Loss Grief Counseling Training Program
The article, “Kids and Pets: A Winning Combination” by Diane Morrow-Kondos looks at kids and pets and what can be gained by having one. She states,
“This is a nice way to say children experience death through the loss of pets. Having a pet teaches children about the cycle of life from birth through death. Yes, it is heartbreaking to see your beloved pets die, but we learn that all creatures, including humans, eventually pass.”
From responsibility to learning empathy, the importance of animals in the lives of children is critical. Death is no less an important lesson in life. It breaks the heart because loss and love are so interwoven. Loving an animal and grieving an animal is essential to understanding life itself. Please also review our Pet Loss Grief Counseling Training program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.
Depression can have many origins. It is deeper than mere loss but a prolonged and unhealthy response to loss, or no loss at all. Depression can be triggered by an event or loss but it can also merely exist within someone due to chemical and biological factors, or psychological factors.
One may find themselves in deep depression and should seek help. Medical professionals, clinical counselors with specialties in grief counseling can also help. Others who are only certified in grief counseling can direct depressed individuals to proper professional care.
Depression can have many origins that are external and internal. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification program and see if it meets your professional goals
The article, “Four Types of Depression” looks at the various types of why people can be depressed. Dr John Cottone takes a closer look in his article and explains these types of depression. He states,
“Virtually everyone has some experience with depression; however, the term “depression” has so many different meanings that confusion and invalidation often result when laypersons talk about their experiences. To address this problem, I have created a simple schema, based on my work with patients and my own personal experiences, to help people understand each other better when talking about depression. ”
Hence depression is a multi layered phenomenon that sometimes has a cause and other times has no direct correlation with an event but only self. To read the entire article, please click here
Due to the pandemic of Covid-19, society for the first time in 100 years has seen the necessity for a self imposed and state quarantine. Noone alive, or at least old enough to recall, remembers the 1918 influenza commonly referred to as the Spanish flu. The Wuhan Virus, Coronavirus, or which ever you prefer to call it has brought present day society to something it has never experienced. This experience will create anxiety and issues for the most healthy, but it can create far worst reactions in those who suffer from mental illness. substance abuse and depression.
Those who need social constructs to help them through daily life have been stripped of important support systems. The depressed, the mentally unstable and the addict need to speak to peer groups or counselors. They need prescriptions and medication to help maintain a normal balance in life. This disruption poses a double threat; not only to the already tragic and scary situation of the deadly virus, but also in the dealing with their own deadly emotional demons.
Isolation and quarantine can affect the most healthy but has a double effect on the depressed and addicted. Please also review our Grief Counseling Program
Those facing issues need to take advantage of modern technology to communicate with others. Various zoom meetings can still be arranged for support groups, as well as counseling appointments, but the isolation and inability to see others in person in times of doubt can play a big role for the depressed or those addicted to substances. It can create a very strong temptation to drink or fall back into a deep depression.
Contact is key but also exercise and optimism. A nice healthy jog or walk, and optimistic reads and programs are essential. Friends need to check on each other, help each other with food, medicine, or a simple call. While the truck load of new issues unloaded on people because of lockdown can cause immense financial and emotional toll, society needs to be alone together to achieve victory over the virus. Together can be achieved through facetime, calls, texts and social media.
Seeing many talk show hosts present from home shows the universal situation we all share as a society. Knowing one is not alone and that deliveries, stimulus checks, and good vibes still exist is critical to mental health. While easier said than done, we must realize this too shall pass. Restaurants, malls, and social gatherings will return. Life will return to normal. The pandemic of 1918 t 1920 infected a third of the population and killed over 50 million. This pandemic has yet to see even see 5 million. This will pass like the last plague passed 100 years ago. Society needs to continue what needs done and remain hopeful and optimistic. It is a time to overcome great hardship and grief and show history that our day also stood up its unique challenges.
In the Lord of the Rings, Frodo asks Gandalf why must he be born in such horrible times, but Gandalf assures Frodo that one cannot choose what time one is born into but instead can only handle how the time is given. We as a society have now our own time and our own struggles and what will define us is how we handle it. Whether depressed, addicted, or merely caught in the situation, we must rise to the occasion, help others and maintain an optimistic attitude as we do what needs to be done.
Please also review our Grief Counseling Program, as well as our Substance Abuse Counseling programs to become trained in helping others face grief and addiction.
Grief is loss and all loss needs vindicated in one’s life. When grief is not acknowledged it can cause many problems in the grief process. Disenfranchised grief is when grief is not respected. Examples include pet loss. Many people are told when they lose a pet that it does not matter. This is the type of rejection that the grieving should not be subjected to. Other examples include stigmas that surround loss, such as the loss of a same sex partner, or the minimizing of an individuals connection to another person who may have passed away. In all these cases, the grief is not accepted socially or acknowledged as legitimate.
A grief that is not respected or acknowledged is a disenfranchised grief. Please also review our grief counseling certification program to see if it meets your needs
The article, “What Is Disenfranchised Grief?” by Linnea Crowther looks at the nature of disenfranchised grief. She states,
“It’s painful when others don’t understand your grieving or don’t believe that you’re really feeling the loss that you are. Disenfranchised grief is more common than you might realize, and it increases the trauma of a loss.”
Divorce can be a painful loss for many. It is not only a loss of a love, but also a loss of many secondary goods. Learning how to cope, advance and become a new person are key.
Divorce can shatter our reality and can take a long time to recover from. Please also review our Grief and Bereavement Certification Training
The article,” 5 Strategies To Help You Deal With a Divorce Grief Relapse” by Karen Finn looks at some strategies to help one deal with potential divorce relapse. The article states,
“Divorce grief relapses are fairly common. They don’t necessarily mean that you’re not over your divorce. They just signal there’s still a little more accepting you can do to fully heal.”
Grief is about loss. The primary loss is not the end story of grief. Grief has many secondary losses associated with the primary loss.
Losses transcend just the initial shock but have waves of loss. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “Four Types of Grief Nobody Told You About” by Sarah Epstein states,
“The word grief has come to be understood solely as a reaction to a death. But that narrow understanding fails to encompass the range of human experiences that create and trigger grief. Here are four types of grief that we experience that have nothing to do with death:”
Interesting article on experiencing grief at a young age and how it affects one in adulthood.
The article, “Tragedy, magical thinking, and the lasting impact of grief” by Geraldine de Brit looks at a tragic loss of her mother and sibling in an accident and how she felt and adapted through the years.
Tragic loss and a young age can have life long implications. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification
The article states,
“Even now, 42 years later, this event still has the ability to feel unreal, like it must have been a mistake and I ask myself, “ how could it have happened? How could I not have seen them in all this time?” In such moments it can even feel like they might still come back, like I am leading an interim life until they do.”
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.”
Miscarriage is a real loss. It is a loss of potential dreams as well as a loss of a child. The connection with the child in the womb is real and it also has emotional reactions when that bond is broken. Businesses should be more understanding after someone loses a child to miscarriage. There needs to be a proper bereavement time to process this loss.
Employees may need more time for miscarriage loss. Please also review our Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “Miscarriage can be a bereavement, and we must reflect that in employment law” by Alex Penk, discusses why businesses need to be more understanding and work around the grief of an employee dealing with a miscarriage in the family. The article states,
“A bill to provide bereavement leave for miscarriages will soon face its first vote in parliament. It’s a subject that’s close to my heart. I can vividly remember the day, nearly six years ago, when I drove to work on an otherwise ordinary morning, sat in the car park staring at the dashboard for around 10 minutes, then drove away again without getting out. Less than 24 hours earlier I had been at home, sobbing uncontrollably, after a radiographer had kindly but matter-of-factly told us that there was no heartbeat in my wife’s womb, and the crushing grief had begun to descend.”
Good article that lists some classic movies about grief and losing someone
The article, 8 movies that perfectly portray the grief of losing a loved one, by Natalie Xenos states,
“There’s nothing more painful in life than losing the people we love, whether it’s a parent, a sibling, a spouse or a close friend. Grief is a deep, all consuming emotion and it can be difficult to put into words. Sometimes all you want is the sense that there are other people out there in the world who understand your pain.”
To read the entire article and see the list of 8 movies, please click here
There are numerous other movies as well that capture the essence of loss. Did any of the movies on this list make your list? Any other movies you think should be included on a larger list? Please also review our Bereavement Counseling Certification Program and see if it matches your academic and professional needs.
