Conscious grieving A transformative approach to healing from loss
Book - 2024
"Conscious Grieving is a book for anyone seeking guidance and support after loss. Renowned grief therapist Claire Bidwell Smith combines her deeply personal experience of loss with her long career spent working with thousands of people to introduce a new approach to grief, one that promotes hope and even transformation. What does it mean to grieve consciously? Most of the time, when we lose someone we love, it feels like grief is just happening to us. We feel out of control, and overwhelmed. Claire reminds us that while loss is something that inevitably happens to all of us, how we choose to grieve is up to us. When we can consciously engage with our grief, rather than avoiding it, we can access profound pathways to healing. Presented ...in a series of thoughtful, brief vignettes that don't overwhelm the reader, Conscious Grieving offers a new framework for each stage of grief: Entering, Engaging, Surrendering, and Transforming. Grief asks a lot from us. But the ability to grieve is a birthright. We grieve throughout our lifetimes. We grieve the deaths of loved ones yes, but also moves, divorce, illness, injustice, time lost, changes in the world and healing from these losses requires that we evaluate everything we ever considered meaningful. Healing means making our lives worth the pain we endure when we lose someone we love. And transforming through grief is an opportunity afforded to all"--
- Subjects
- Published
-
New York :
Workman Publishing
[2024]
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Edition
- First edition
- Item Description
- Includes index.
- Physical Description
- pages cm
- ISBN
- 9781523520282
- Introduction
- How to Use This Book
- Part 1. Entering into Grief
- An Invitation
- Meet Yourself Where You Are
- A Note for Those with Complicated Relationships
- You Will Never Be the Same
- What Is Grief?
- Types of Grief
- What Grief Isn't
- It's Okay-This Is Normal
- When You Fall Apart
- What Grief Feels Like
- The Physicality of Grief
- A Note on Yearning
- When Fear Arises
- When You Panic
- A Note on Memory
- Permission to Laugh
- How Long Does Grief Last?
- You Are Your Own Grief Expert
- What the World Expects
- Contemplations
- Part 2. Engaging with Grief
- What Does It Mean to Engage with Grief?
- A Note About Avoiding Your Grief
- The Effects of Grief on the Brain
- Recognizing Trauma
- About Guilt
- Making Amends and Seeking Forgiveness
- About Depression
- About Grief-Related Anxiety
- About Anger
- About Shame and Stigma
- Secondary Losses
- A Note on Multiple Losses
- A Note About Shared Grief
- Grief Triggers
- How to Talk About Your Grief
- The One-Year Arc of Grief
- About Holidays and Anniversaries
- Contemplations
- Part 3. Surrendering to Grief
- What Does It Mean to Surrender to Grief?
- Who Are You Now?
- When Everyone Drops Away and You Are Still Grieving
- Coping with Insensitivity
- Recognizing Destructive Tendencies
- Navigating Professional Grief Support
- Further Notes on Anxiety
- Practicing Self-Compassion
- Thoughts → Emotions → Behavior
- Integrating Your Loss
- Cultivating Resilience
- Two Things Can Be True
- Where Is My Person?
- Contemplations
- Part 4. Transforming Through Grief
- The Other Side of Loss
- Post-Loss Growth
- The Long Arc of Loss
- Your Story of Grief
- Continuing Your Connection
- Exploring the Afterlife
- Embracing Ritual
- About Honor and Legacy
- The Passage of Time
- Hope and Grace and Forgiveness
- Meaning Is Yours for the Making
- Being of Service
- Embracing Death
- An Opportunity
- Contemplations
- Appendix: Your Grief Toolkit
- Why It's Worth Exploring the Five Stages and Other Models
- Meeting Yourself in Grief
- Tools for Grief
- How to Ask for Help
- Rituals to Rely On
- Recommended Reading
