Tag Archives: Complicated Bereavement

Ellen Anmuth: This Week’s Grief and Loss Advice

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Dear Readers,

I wanted to share links to my 2 articles below on Grief and Loss/Bereavement, because so many people are suffering after the death of a loved one. The first article is on the death of a friend, and the second article is on “Complicated Bereavement”.

Perhaps you could share them with a person who need some help.

Sincerely,

Ellen Anmuth, Licensed Psychotherapist and Genetic Counselor;   Creator/Founder of “The Language Of Solutions” Self Improvement and Wellness Programs

(1) The Death of A Friend: A Journey With a Unique Footprint

This article describes the very unique aspects of the friendship bond, which may affect the grief process. The “Friendship Bond” is different from the family bond in many ways, and there is often a mirroring of the self that is lost when a friend dies.  Here is the link:

(2) Coping With Death: What is Complicated Bereavement?
As a Licensed Psychotherapist who is also a Genetic Counselor, I specialized in Crisis Intervention and how to cope with complicated bereavements, such as the unexpected death of a child, or the death of a person due to conditions that may have been preventable. This article highlights the causes of complicated bereavements, including guilt, anger, unresolved issues and external events and situations that create complexity. The link is below.
 

“The Mind-Body Wellness Matrix”: A New Blog Takes a Fresh Look

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Wellness is an elusive and broad concept. As a Health Educator, Licensed Psychotherapist, Genetic Counselor and prior Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, I think of “Wellness” as a complex matrix with many levels and dimensions.

When I created  “The Language Of Solutions” Self Improvement and Wellness Programs, my hope was to offer ideas and strategies to inform and inspire people to find solutions to many of life’s wellness and relationship challenges.

The purpose of this new blog, www.TheLanguageOfSolutions.org, is to offer articles that will present concepts and strategies that are clear to understand and implement related to  “The Mind-Body Wellness Matrix (TM)”.

This is a model which I conceptualized, based on the belief that  most wellness issues have levels of complexity, and therefore need a multi-dimensional approach to solve them. One level usually ignored is the unconscious level of awareness, for all the obvious reasons! However, repressed memories or repressed traumatic events can also affect behavior and well being, and needs to be part of the “Matrix” of evaluation and plan.

Here is an example: A person is overweight to the point of obesity, and  has Diabetes from the over-eating of sugar. A traditional medical model approach may be to recommend a diet. This approach alone has a high probability of failure. Why? Because obesity usually has emotional issues that contribute. A multi-disciplinary approach would include a psychotherapist, registered dietitian,  and medical doctor.  A family history should include the psychosocial and emotional, not just the medical.

Some instances of obesity are related to unresolved sexual abuse. If the medical doctor does not include the assessment and treatment of emotional trauma in the treatment of Obesity, the likelihood of cure is reduced.

Here is another example, and this one deals with self help in a non-medical setting. Let’s say that you tend toward emotional over-eating, and someone you love has just died. If you find yourself gaining weight, and eating when not physically hungry, it may be helpful to think about seeking the help of a licensed psychotherapist if you feel that you need more support. There is a phenomena called “Complicated Bereavement”, in  which a grieving person may present  with many feelings of guilt or anger which cannot be alleviated easily. As a beginning strategy, you could keep a log or journal of your feelings, thoughts and behaviors. In addition, you could include journal entries of your spiritual beliefs related to feelings of guilt or anger if you believe that the spiritual or religious aspects of life influence your well being.

In summary, “Wellness” is a multi-faceted and multi-layered matrix of complexity. Being  open to this fact will assist on the road to finding solutions.