BENEFITS OF A CERTIFIED GRIEF COACH FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE SURVIVORS by Mimi Rothschild

A Certified Grief Coach can creates a supportive, safe, and trusting space for those individuals experiencing grief, to work through the transitioning process, adjusting to and planning for their changed life, their "new normal."

Grief and Loss

Day after day, we hear stories of community violence. Acts of aggression happen. These impact the lives of children and adults as well as those who protect citizens and those who mean to harm others. Some of these incidents may have happened in your hometown.

It is not uncommon to experience the roller coaster of emotions accompanying grief after an incident of community violence, whether you share it or view it on social media or on the television set in your home.

It's critical to realize that communal violence deviates from what we often experience and what we anticipate life to be like. This may cause our sense of wellbeing to crumble. Extremely intense emotions like dread, helplessness, shock, rage, and occasionally terror are possible. These responses are typical ones at a really challenging time in our life. Grief combined with traumatic reactions can be too much to handle.

Even if it may seem like we are in "another world," the world continues to go on around us. Additional changes and losses might exacerbate trauma and grief feelings. Many people report losing their sense of security in the outside world, as well as their faith in their neighborhood, their neighbors, and the local government.

Grief Reminders

Grief is a normal and necessary process associated with any loss.

Grief involves physical as well as emotional, cognitive and spiritual responses.

Grief is hard work; it takes a lot of energy.

Deal with one hour, one day at a time. The whole situation can be overwhelming if looked at all at once.

You do not get over grief in the sense of forgetting; rather, grief will lessen and soften with time.

Things that Help

The signs and symptoms of a traumatic grief reaction may last a few days, a few weeks, a few months or longer. The understanding and support of family and friends can help the stress reactions pass more quickly. There are a number of things that can help during this very difficult time.

Maintain as normal a schedule as possible (as impossible as it seems); structure your time

Follow the basics for good health (even when you don't feel like it) – rest, eat well, exercise

Avoid numbing the pain with overuse of drugs or alcohol; go easy on caffeine

Talk to people – reach out, spend time with others

Do things that feel good to you – take a walk, listen to music, keep a feelings journal, etc.

Give yourself permission to feel the pain and share these feelings with others

Moving Forward:

Grief can change you. Both an individual and an entire society can be transformed by it. There is a lot of resilience. After a tragedy strikes a community, there is an innate ability to survive stress and calamity, adapt, and rebuild. Here are some instances of how grieving can lead to change and growth:

• Becoming more understanding and accepting

• Becoming socially active

• Increasing appreciation for loved ones and others

You are not alone and there are services available if you have experienced a loved one's death or have been exposed to community violence that may be inciting grief emotions. Please get in touch with us at the loss center.

5 BENEFITS OF A CERTIFIED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COACH

There are five advantages to survivors of domestic violence seeking counseling, but none is more crucial than the possibility that it will play a major role in their choice to end the relationship. Domestic violence needs all the help it can get, with the yearly cost of health care services estimated to be at least $8.3 billion, not to mention the toll it has on survivors' and their families' lives. Here are only five ways that counseling for domestic abuse can save lives.

• Minimizing negative belief

• Learning the pattern of abuse in the relationship

• Normalize the survivor feeling

• Building a network of support

• Development of a safety plan