***New blog post from Postcards from the Shadowlands:*** Being an advocate for my father has not always brought out my best side. So, I owed one of the managers at my father’s nursing home a big apology. Instead of forgiving me, she connected with me. And that made all the difference.
...It’s frightening when you know a loved one is approaching death, but It helps when you know what to expect. I was much better prepared to support my mother through her end of life because I learned about the dying process. And my conscious engagement with my mother’s passing decreased my anxiety about my own death. This is the second post in my Death Anxiety series.
...I thought it might be time for a straightforward introduction about myself and my practice. So here you go. The origin story of Shadowlands Grief and Life Coaching and how I came to do this profound work of walking people through the deep experience of grief, loss, and later-in-life transitions.
...Jimmy Buffett died over Labor Day weekend. There’s been an outpouring for grief as America mourns our Poet of Paradise. Yet it’s perplexing that we grieve so hard for people we’ve never met. Who don’t even know we exist. Grief experts call it parasocial grief and say it’s real. Once you understand how we form attachments to other people, our grief for our favorite stars makes complete sense.
...Worrying over your own reaction to a loved one’s death is a major source of suffering in bereavement. Compassionate self-talk eases your mind so you can focus on soothing self-care.
...Grief over a pet’s death is real. And it’s really hard. That’s because the amount of grief we feel is correlated with the degree of attachment we have to our loved one. Our relationship with companion animals is set up to create a powerful bond. This post describes how to move through the pain of losing a pet.
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