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.
...The best way to face any anxiety is to determine what you can control about an uncontrollable future and make a plan. You can’t control the fact that you’ll die. But you can choose how to live, and you can influence the legacy you leave. Having a plan for those two things will go a long way in easing death anxiety.
...You may think this is a story I simply made up to ease my memory of a painful experience. I won’t argue the facts over whether or not humans have control over their exact time of death. But I will quibble about the word “simply.” Because there’s nothing simple about the human capacity to weave stories from the events of their lives. Storytelling is one of our most brilliant survival skills.
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