grief

Tag Archive for grief

Choose Your Reaction to What Life Sends Your Way

August 10, 2020 John Uncategorized No comments

Life has a way of knocking you to your knees. And tough times just seem to keep the bad stuff coming.

But GenuLines wants you to remember that a thought-out response can protect you from action you’ll regret.

Choose Your Reaction to What Life Sends Your Way

Whether life slams you or only throws you a curve you might tend to react without thinking. But making rational thought your first reaction puts you in control.

Knee-jerk reactions rarely work to your advantage.

Here’s an example. A customer says your product is horrible and wants a refund.

You’re on the defensive but your calm response takes away the person’s power.

Now your life isn’t dictated by things happening around you. You control your emotions.

Taking the “reins” in this way keeps your emotions under control. And making this a habit can contribute to a happier and more satisfying life.

Reactions that aren’t thought out tend to be irrational. And this can get you into a lot of trouble.

Highway tailgaters might seem like your enemy. You get upset and you try to get away from them.

Or, you try to get back at them.

This can cause a crash or an altercation Think about simple solutions to solving the problem at hand.

There are times when an immediate reaction is appropriate, such as the loss of someone close to you. You’re not going to make a situation like that positive.

For the emotions that follow, such as grief, choose how you’ll handle having these feelings.

Talk things out with a grief counselor. Don’t put it on the back burner.

It’s important to recognize situations in which instant reactions are acceptable. Don’t confuse them with situations that call for well thought out, controlled responses.

JohnK 8-10-2020

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Overheard: “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on”

~Robert Frost

When Grief Becomes More Than “Normal”

September 19, 2018 John Uncategorized No comments

The grief from Hurricane Florence will be felt for a long time to come. Death, destruction, and displacement have affected so many people.

Those in the storm-affected areas now have to deal with that grief in some form or another. This GenuLines post will deal with things we all can do to handle the heaviness known as grief.

First I want to tell you about our next scheduled edition of Chi For Yourself.

Danielle Dulsky will make her second visit to the show. Listen in on the call on Tuesday, Sept. 25th at 4 pm Eastern 1 pm Pacific time at chiforyourself.com

Danielle Dulsky is the author of Holy Wild: A Heathen Bible for the Untamed Woman.

Subscribe to GenuLines- get CHI FOR YOURSELF guest information and more!

ARTICLE

Grief touches most everyone at some point in their lives. But, no one grieves in exactly the same way in every case.

And the intensity and duration of grief can vary from one person to the next. This is due to a combination of things.

These include genetics, personality, and previous coping patterns. Add to that any previous history of depression or other mental illness.

It’s also affected by the presence or lack of support networks, and the event leading to the death (ex. sudden, unexpected death vs. expected death). There’s been a lot of debate over when grief becomes something more.

Something that may need medical attention.

But when does grief become something more than “normal?” Clinicians are doing a sort of balancing act.

They want to be careful that they don’t “medicalize” normal grief. But they also want to make sure they don’t exclude those who may be suffering from clinical depression.

This depression could be set off by the recent loss of a loved one. Grief is a process, not an event.

In the early stages of grief (sometimes referred to as “acute” grief), symptoms can pile up.

Think intense sadness, trouble with concentration, and reduced interest in activities and people. There could be crying, sleep issues, changes in appetite, too.

And it would be no surprise to have constant thoughts about the deceased. Now, these are many of the same symptoms as seen in depression. Yet they are considered two distinct entities.

The experience of grief does not necessarily mean that the individual is depressed.

Eventually, grief can become less disabling and intrusive in one’s life. The wounds begin to heal as pleasure is increasingly found in life again.

Furthermore, grief has no set time frame. It can last from weeks to years.

There can still be periods where the acute grief returns for short periods during events. They include the birthday of the deceased, holidays, and other reminders and memories.

But, the acute feelings of grief eventually wane.

Sadly, some people have a very hard time finding pleasure in their lives after the loss of a loved one. Again, the process has no specific length of time.

It varies according to the person and the circumstances. In any case, it’s important to recognize that depression can partner with grief.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is another possibility, especially for violent or unexpected deaths.

To summarize: we experience the process of grief in our own ways. Keep in mind that grief, depression, and PTSD can sometimes work together.

Don’t ignore signs of depression and PTSD. It’s better to seek the opinion of your physician sooner than later.

____________________

It is very important that you consult a physician if, at any point, the grief does not seem to be subsiding. Or if you have any thoughts of self-harm.

Your physician can help determine whether you’re suffering from depression or PTSD.

If so, various forms of treatment can help. These include psychological counseling and/or medications.

JohnK 9-19-2018

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Overheard:

“Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don’t know how to laugh either.”

~Golda Meir

Wallowing Over Google Gremlins :-( And a Link to The Tina Gilbertson Interview

September 12, 2014 John Uncategorized No comments

Apologies for problems on the Google Hangouts page that muted the audio for the Tina Gilbertson interview! Tina is the author of Constructive Wallowing: How to Beat Bad Feelings by Letting Yourself Have Them. Tina turned conventional wisdom around with her explanation of how “constructive wallowing” can help in dealing with feelings. A list of talking points follows, and you can hear the interview by clicking on the BlogTalkRadio logo.

CHI FOR YOURSELF guest: Tina Gilbertson talking points:

Isn’t wallowing an oxymoron?
Having a good cry might not be enough
Self-criticism is not healing
Anger, temper, and wallowing
The T.R.U.T.H. Technique
Hatred, and working through it
Self-compassion toward yourself
Trying to replace a feeling with a thought
The benefits of constructive wallowing
Forgiveness- the policy and the emotion
The wallowing end-point

You can hear the CHI FOR YOURSELF interview with Tina Gilbertson by clicking on the BlogTalkRadio logo:

JohnK 9-12-2014

chiforyourself.com home

Today: Wallowing is Good For You!

September 11, 2014 John Uncategorized No comments

Today’s guest on Chi For Yourself is Tina Gilbertson. She says pushing bad feelings away never works, and she’ll offer us a practical approach to the more liberating alternative of allowing yourself to feel them. Chi For Yourself – at 4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific time. Hear the interview at chiforyourself.com