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HEALING GRIEF
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Healing grief...
You may not know this, but during sleep, your mind works... at making sense of
what happened to you during the day. If you interfere with this normal sleep
pattern (alcohol and sleeping pills mess this up), you wake up exhausted. Your
mind is not as capable of helping you through your grief-work.
Try activities that help you relax, like yoga or meditation. If you would like a
simple free guide to help you get started with meditation, click here:
FREE MEDITATION GUIDE.
At bedtime, drink some warm milk and put on soft soothing music. Grab a really
boring novel, and settle in.
Try Benedryl or Valerian Root, an herbal, for occasional use only on really difficult
nights. Do NOT get in the habit of taking sleepers every night. Very bad for
your health and your grief.
You might find that as your grief
matures, you are overwhelmed by stress and anxiety from coping. For some
excellent new strategies and tools to help fight excessive stress and high
anxiety, join up for our free
STRESS MANAGEMENT E-COURSE.
EXERCISE
Healing grief...
If you were on an exercise routine before your tragedy struck, try to get back
to it as soon as you can. If not, go for a slow jog or brisk walk at least every
other day. Get on a bike and tour the neighborhood. Get out in the fresh air and
sunshine.
Exercise releases stress and tension. It will do you good to get out
of the house for a few minutes, and your body will thank you later.
DIET
Healing grief...
I know, it can be difficult to even eat right now, but you must provide your
body with fuel. Grief expends an enormous amount of energy. You may not be able
to face a big plate of gooey lasagna, but surely you can nibble on some grapes
and cheese, right?
Get rid of all the ice cream, chips and candy. Stock up on nourishing snack foods. Fruits, cheeses, cereals, and yogurt are all very good and easy on the stomach.
Eat frequent small nourishing snacks to keep you going. Take a
stress-tab multivitamin daily, with a meal. And now is not the time to go on a
reducing diet.
ALCOHOL & DRUGS
Healing grief...
The pain of grief is so overwhelming, especially in the beginning, that you may
feel tempted to avoid it with alcohol or drugs. An occasional respite with a
glass or two of wine won't hurt. Getting drunk every night will. Alcohol is a
depressant, you know.
Artificial quick fixes will only postpone the inevitable, and add to your
problems. It's only too easy to fall into the trap of avoidance and become
dependent on chemicals to get you through the day.
You are strong enough to face
this squarely and make it through without them. Don't add addiction to your
problems.
"Grief is itself a medicine" -William Cowper (1731-1800)
Prescription sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medications are some of the most
addictive drugs out there. If you were already on an antidepressant before this
happened, by all means continue it, and let your doctor know what has happened.
But be very careful of accepting new treatment for depression just because you
are grieving. How to tell the difference between normal grieving and clinical
depression?
HERE'S
AN EXCELLENT GUIDE TO DEPRESSION.
P.S.: This is not a good time to quit smoking. Smoking cessation, though well
worth doing, is a hugely stressful undertaking, one you don't need to tackle
right now.
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