You Are Not Weird, You Are Normal
Recently, I googled the top five most stressful life events that humans suffer. Here is what I learned from every site that I researched:
The death of a loved one
Divorce
Moving or leaving your home
Having a major illness or injury
Job Loss
If you analyze the list, these are all losses and all cause grief. Do you see yourself on this list? I know that I do!
Have you lost a loved one due to death? With all the recent Covid deaths and now the horrific accidental drug overdoses, it is easy to see why so many are reaching out to find comfort, peace, counseling, and coaching. Over 800,000 people in the United States alone have died due to Covid. These numbers are staggering.
With the rise of drug use in the U.S. alone, accidental overdoses are now the #1 cause of death among 18-40-year-olds, says a Fox News poll. Headlines in another poll state that it is now a ‘National Crisis’.
Divorce has remained nearly stable at 4.5 out of every 10 marriages ending in divorce. Not everyone that suffers divorce wants a divorce. This causes intense pain, grief, and loss, which must be processed.
Losses come in many forms. Grief is a result of those losses. How do we process grief? Sadly, although most of us will experience some form of grief in our lives, we are not instructed on how to deal with it. Schools don’t teach it. Families often silence it. Friends do not always understand it.
The good news is that we CAN find the help that we need! Counseling helps. Coaching helps. Faith helps.
I have personally experienced many losses in my own life. This, however, sent me on a journey to find out more about how to handle/process my own personal grief. I have been divorced. I have watched loved ones suffer long and difficult health battles that ended in death. My very special dad died after a long battle with diabetes and cancer, having lost his legs and his sight. I lost my loving adult son in 2018, and my wonderful mom in 2020. I am acquainted with grief, loss, and pain. What I didn’t know was how to process it all - until I searched for answers, wisdom, and help.
For me, my faith helped me tremendously. So did my loving family. But, it wasn’t until I set up a private grief group online, called Healing after Loss on Facebook that I began to learn how common all my emotions were. How ‘normal’ I was. Three years in and we now have over 1200 members from all around the world who share their thoughts, ideas, faith, stories, encouragement, and hope. I realized that I am not only ‘normal’, but that I could begin to heal by helping and serving others.
From this group, and after three years of administering it, I decided to become a Grief Recovery Specialist. It is now my ministry. In February of 2022, I took a 32-hour course to become certified as a grief and loss coach. In March of 2022, I will take the Advanced Training certification. I currently coach other grievers on a variety of subjects, using what I have learned in my own experiences, as well as incorporating my training techniques from the Grief Recovery Institute.
Friends, there is always HOPE. There is a way to HEAL. I can offer you HELP. Contact me today to come alongside you and coach you to your best self!