New Year, New You! Grief Resources Needed to Help You Thrive In Honoring Your Grief Journey!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Farewell 2021, Welcome 2022!
And just like that, another year has come and gone. How was your 2021? How are you feeling about going into the new year 2022? Each year can carry excitement, success, joy, comfort, and contentment. In the same year, we can also experience challenges that either provide little inconveniences or take the forefront and feel as though they're dominating our year. Grieving the loss of a loved one is one of these challenges that can shift the tune of our whole year.
Did you experience a loss in 2021? Are you attempting to navigate anticipatory grief going into 2022? Are you trying to support a loved one who is greiving a loss (click here for tips on how to best support a loved one who's grieving)? Regardless of your involvement in grief and loss, I have a universal question for you all; do you believe you're equipped with the appropriate resources to assist you in the process of walking through your grief journey?
Yes? That's fantastic! I'd love to hear what resources are helping you.
No? Not to worry! This is a very common experience and one I want to help eliminate for you.
Each year, I publish two blogs (one at the very beginning of the year and one halfway through the year) providing you with all sorts of grief resources to fill the resource void. If you haven't checked out the previous resource blogs, I'd encourage you to do so. In the first blog, you will find the most common grief resources. And in the second blog, you will find local grief resources as well as social media/internet grief resources.
To kick off 2022, I want to provide you with grief resources that are complimentary to talk therapy/grief counseling. I'm a huge believer in and advocate for attending to both mind and body; when one is struggling the other will follow. Along with this belief, I recognize there is more to your grief process than just grief counseling. Yes, this is a very important and helpful component and there are other pieces we can add to this process to enhance your journey. You can learn more about some of the complimentary services/therapies listed below in the interview series found on my YouTube channel, Exposing Grief.
Holistic Healing Services & Other Forms of Therapies
Healing Touch Therapy is a form of healing that utilizes soft, gentle, intentional and professional touch (or no touch if that feels more comfortable) to encourage healing in all realms; physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
Acupuncture is a form of healing that works with our energy system(s) within our bodies; known as "Chi". The goal of acupuncture is to work towards getting our energy system(s) in balance through guiding your body to do its own healing; allowing you to live your best quality life.
Yoga is often seen as a form of physical exercise to encourage flexibility and improve strength. While this is true, it can also be utilized as a form of healing. Mental health challenges (whether grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, etc.) carry many physical manifestations/somatic symptoms which is why you'll hear people talk about their fatigue or difficulty breathing when navigating these. With that, it's important to attend not only to our mental health but our physical as well. Yoga can be a relaxing, grounding, and restorative way to attend to both.
Trauma Therapy It is not uncommon for trauma to be attached to grief. Especially if you are grieving a sudden or traumatic loss. When trauma is present with grief, it can interfere with your ability to do the grief work for the fact that the trauma can be triggered each time you address the grief (learn more about how grief and trauma can co-exist and trauma's influence on your grief journey). Both aspects play an important role in honoring your grief journey so that's why trauma therapy can be a nice (or even necessary) addition to your grief counseling process.
Complimentary Services Addressing Physical Health
As I mentioned while discussing yoga, grief can manifest in many different ways including through physical symptoms. The most common I'll hear are: lack of appetite/gut issues, chest pain/increased heart rate, and restlessness. While talk therapy can help with these, it's always important to assure we're addressing the physical as well. Below are a few resources that will allow you to address your physical health while honoring your grief journey.
Registered Dietician(s) are licensed individuals who work towards providing their clients with individualized meal plans/eating habits to achieve their nutrition goals. This can range anywhere from someone wanting to lose weight while still getting all the proper nutrients to helping individuals who have lost their appetite to engage in a meal plan to ensure they're properly fueled.
Massage Therapist; massages can be a great resource for those who are experiencing high restlessness and difficulty relaxing. Massages can be utilized to help relieve tension (via deep tissue work) or for simple relaxation with essential oils and a gentle calming touch.
Please note, not all these resources may be necessary or work for your grief journey. Part of honoring your grief journey is determining which services are going to best assist you in the process. That can change as time goes on so the best you can do today is ask yourself, "How am I doing today and what would best help my grief process?" If you have questions on how these services may benefit your process or are interested in beginning grief counseling, click below to schedule your FREE 20-30 minute grief consultation or your first session with me.
Here's to living a better life as your best self!
Brittany Squillace, MA, LMFT
Grief Counselor
