When we experience loss in our lives, the trauma of it can devastate us in so many different profound ways. We can suffer from worsened depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. We can find that our loss exacerbates our problems with addiction because we feel driven to use our drug of choice to cope with the pain. We tend to deal with our loss in some very unhealthy ways, not only with our addictive substances but also with other addictive behaviors that can become compulsive and that can feel out of our control, such as smoking cigarettes, overeating, oversleeping, or missing work. Many of us also tend to use unhealthy relationships to distract ourselves from our grief. How can we learn to cope with loss in healthy ways instead of resorting to our self-destructive ways of coping?
Getting Support
When we have sustained a loss that is traumatic for us, whether because of a death, a separation or some other trauma, our instinctive tendency is often to shut down, close ourselves off from other people, and isolate ourselves. Our self-isolation can contribute to our unhappiness and compound our grief, so it can help us exponentially to get as much support from other people as possible. We can work with therapists, grief counselors, sponsors and recovery coaches. We can learn coping skills from our mentors, spiritual guides and energy healers. There are sources of support all around us that we can take advantage of, including support groups, classes and workshops. We want to get to the point where we feel comfortable receiving support from people, especially since so many of us have a hard time letting ourselves be helped. When we are supported, we feel less alone with our pain. We feel we have the allies we need to help us move through our grief.
Expressing Our Emotions
Many of us have a hard time talking about our loss, and we tend to suppress our difficult emotions. When we don’t express our feelings, they tend to become stronger and more overpowering over time. It’s so important to find safe spaces where we feel supported, where we feel heard and understood, and where we can express how we feel. When we have other people who can relate to our grief, empathize with us and understand us, we feel more empowered to speak our truth and communicate how we feel. We feel more comfortable being ourselves, expressing our pain, and being open about our feelings. This process of self-expression is an important part of releasing all of the stored pain we’re coping with, and working to empower ourselves as we heal.
The caring, compassionate staff of The Guest House is here to support you
as you start your journey to recovery and healing.
Call 855-483-7800 today for more information.
theguesthouseocala.com
3230 Northeast 55th Avenue Silver Springs, FL 34488