Coping with Bereavement
The death of someone we love is one of the hardest things we will ever experience, and can turn our world upside down.
Grief is an incredibly personal matter, it has no set timescales and affects everyone differently. It's common to experience anger, sadness, loneliness, confusion, guilt or anxiety amongst a rollercoaster of emotions.
Often the way we handle death is learned in childhood. As children we observe how those around us react to death, and we take that as our blueprint into the rest of our life. If we saw our parents bottling up their emotions and not talking about the loss of a loved one, this may become the way we deal with death, too. Therefore it's vitally important that children are able to experience the death of someone close to them in a healthy and positive way, expressing emotions and thoughts freely.
There are often a lot of regrets after a death; things that were left unsaid - or maybe things that were said that shouldn't have been. The beautiful thing about hypnotherapy is that it allows that person to visit their loved one in the privacy of their own mind, and say all they things they need to say in order to find resolution and the freedom to move forwards. These moments are beautiful and incredibly healing, and it's a privilege to be able to facilitate them.
Acceptance of loss is another theme that arises after bereavement. If this continues for a prolonged period it can result in a person remaining in a 'stuck' state, unable to progress and live their own life. Staying stuck in the past is not healthy for anyone - we all deserve to step into the light again after a period of grieving. Hypnotherapy can provide a safe space for those emotions to be expressed and for a way forwards to emerge.
For those left behind, 'survivor guilt' can be hard to live with. Why me? Why am I still here when he/she/they aren't? These thoughts prey upon the mind and can make a person feel unworthy of living a happy life.
Similarly, after the death of a long-term spouse or partner it's not uncommon to experience a loss of identity and purpose. One of my biggest joys is helping people realise that they DO deserve to be happy and they DO have a purpose - and that purpose is to live the very best life they possibly can in honour of those who were unable to.
Many people are familiar with the concept of bereavement counselling, but for those who choose hypnotherapy, the changes and benefits that are experienced are often immediate, cathartic and uplifting.
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