Got grief? Strategies to help manage heartache

 

Grief, like cancer, is not biased. Although grief, or heartache, focuses on the psyche, it can still kill: hope, good intentions, innocence. In “Moving forward through grief,” I talk about the stages of grief that many of us will or have encountered. No one situation looks the same; likewise, no one person assimilates grief the same way. Additionally, I believe this soul-deep sorrow can extend beyond loss into territories of unfulfilled dreams, unanswered prayer, disillusionment, broken relationships, failing health and so on. What we require is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but remedies we can apply to help us transition through it:

• Accept it: understand grief is a normal part of life
• Be patient: cut slack—with yourself and others—when appropriate
• Allow time: rest, rejuvenate and replenish as necessary
• Walk through it: realize it is only temporary; avoid setting up camp
• Admit a need: know when to ask for and/or to accept help
• Say no: don’t apologize, minimize or make excuses

What’s your strategy for coping with grief?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Mirror, mirror: who’s the fairest of them all?

Back up five-and-a-half years: During my internship with a local beauty pub, I wrote on myriad topics—particularly those that challenge the ‘seasoned’ ladies—sagging skin, spider veins, etc. Oftentimes I joke that, although I can’t stop the aging process, I plan to fight it—kicking and screaming—the entire way. With that pursuit in mind, in addition to adopting a healthier lifestyle over the past several years, I’ve met with various professionals to discuss my ‘age-defying’ options. When I recently learned how the Chinese practice of acupuncture and cupping can help promote facial rejuvenation, as well as total-body benefits, I signed on for the treatments. Granted, I believe beauty is only skin deep and our characters bear witness to the beauty within. Yet I’m excited about becoming the best version of me—on the outside yes, but also my overall health and wellness. After all, this is the only body that’s going to carry for me the next half century.

How important is total health to you?

Image courtesy of podpad at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Residing in the in-betweens

[Image credit: Evgeni Dinev]

In between goals is a thing called life,
that has to be lived and enjoyed. ~ Sid Caesar

It’s helpful to have those stepping-stones to advance us from Point A to Z without getting our feet wet.  Or at least provide us the impetus to continue moving forward when the journey seems endless, or even thankless.  We break down the big goals into smaller, more manageable tasks.  We include times of refreshment and rejuvenation for our souls or muses or whatever it is that makes us tick.  We dream about a future Someday while muddling through each of our Todays.  But in between doing all of that or when we’re in the middle of the tough stuff — the stuff we want to skim over or ignore completely because it doesn’t feel good, it’s boring or sometimes lonely — we need to take Caesar’s advice to live and enjoy this life during the in-betweens.  Because one day we’ll look back and realize those were quite possibly the times that held potential for the utmost victories, the deepest opportunities for bettering ourselves or the greatest heartbreak countered by the greatest joy.  And we can never get them back.

Do you make the most of the in-between times, or gloss over them, dreaming of better?