Surviving Grief and Loss

The winter months can be emotionally difficult for some of us. Perhaps the decrease in sun exposure plays a role. Or maybe it is the house-bound blues that contributes to feelings of sadness and grief. Feelings of grief can rise to the surface more easily during the winter months than any other time of year.

Intense feelings of grief can be overwhelming to the point of making it difficult to get through the day. It doesn't matter if you are grieving the loss of a loved one or the loss of a job, the toll of grief on the psyche can carry you down into the depths of intense pain.

Here are some guidelines to help you through the grief process:

Take your time. Everyone grieves at their own pace. Give yourself permission to go through the process at your own rate and in your own way.

Allow yourself to get back into the swing of things. Laughing or enjoying lunch with a friend is not betraying your deceased loved one. Ask yourself if your loved one would want you to be miserable, or would they want you to enjoy your life?

Talk about your loss. Talking about the good times, your feelings of sadness and your aspirations for the future is one of the fastest ways to get through the grieving process.

Get back into your hobbies. Engaging in activities that require focus and creativity can be very therapeutic.

Give yourself a specified amount of time everyday to actively grieve. Taking 15 minutes every morning to slow down and feel your deepest feelings will not only help you get through the process but once you have allowed yourself time to feel your feelings you can then dedicate the rest of your day to getting on with life.

----------------
Now playing: KXNT
via FoxyTunes

Owen Wilson, Suicide & Stopping the Pain

Owen Wilson is scheduled to give a My Space interview later today in which he is expected to finally discuss his attempted suicide last August.

In August the New York Post reported that the distraught actor was found "bloodied and dazed after overdosing on pills and slitting his wrists." The article added that "Wilson, 38, tried to take his own life after a bitter blowup with a close pal."

So how is it that even people who seem to have everything, who appear happy, stable and mentally healthy can laps into depression so deeply that they want to die? It may be difficult to understand but it is not unusual.

Depression is largely a silent killer. Because of stigma and denial the depressed person attempts to hide their symptoms from the world and even from themselves. When in public they put on a smiling mask and do their best to get through their day - until they sink so low that they can no longer function in public.

Even then the depressed person may claim illness or exhaustion to disguise their mental darkness and emotional pain. The pain becomes so intolerable that they begin to believe that the only way to stop it is to end their life. Family and friends have their own denial to defend them from having to deal with something as frightening as a loved one's depressed mental state. And so the symptoms go unnoticed until it is too late.

Dissolving the taboo surrounding the topic of depression is one way to curtail a loved one's attempt at suicide. But our culture has a long way to go before we feel secure enough with our own ability to deal with anothers dark emotions. It takes courage, self awareness and understanding.

For more information about:
Depression click here
Depression Questions Answered click here.
More Answers click here
Suicide click here
Suicide Questions & Answers click here
Despair click here
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)click here