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Posts Categorized: Grief and Loss

Endings Leave A Bit of Ourselves Behind

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Endings Leave A Bit of Ourselves Behind | FocusWithMarlene.com

ceremonies or rites of passage symbolize leaving childhood to enter adulthood. Sometimes the rituals are physically demanding – others are simply a public recognition and celebration after instruction. Religions also have symbolic ceremonies to represent a major transition such as Jewish Bar Mitzvahs and Confirmation in the Lutheran and Roman Catholic Churches.

We leave something of ourselves behind in our endings as we move into the next stage of life. Even if we are enthusiastic about a new beginning, the ending can be bitter-sweet. We wait with anticipation for that first child, only to discover in becoming a parent, that we are not free to come and go as we please. Life has been altered forever. We may finally have reached that long-awaited retirement, only to experience restlessness and lack of purpose. It is necessary to redefine who we are at each stage of life.

What Transforms Your Life?

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

What Transforms Your Life? | FocusWithMarlene.com

Every day, we observe the wonders of our world and the transformations that happen throughout the seasons.

Who hasn’t been renewed and refreshed by a cooling summer’s rain or been moved by the beauty and quiet serenity of an earth blanketed in mounds of downy snow or snowflakes that shimmer like diamonds in the winter sun?

Who hasn’t witnessed the peace of a countryside bathed in the light of a full moon?

And what person hasn’t marveled at stars so dazzling and vivid, it seems we could reach up and touch them? At such times, nature is silenced and time suspended.

And yet, the snow is only frozen water, and the sun, moon and stars are nothing more than hardened, desolate, uninhabitable rocks and dangerous gasses.

Misfortune and hardship can take us out of what was predictable and comforting and place us in unfamiliar territory.

A New Mind Shift – A New You  

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

A New Mind Shift - A New You | FocusWithMarlene.com

How do you see yourself?

Are you despondent and dreading the future, unable to see anything positive to look forward to?

Losses can make everything seem gloomy and hopeless and we resign ourselves to this fate moving forward.

But we can change that picture.

We can reframe what is happening in order to see something positive. Let me share a true story with you.

Years ago, I worked for a company that provided training to injured workers in chronic pain to help in their recovery and their re-entry to the workplace. They had been injured on the job, resulting in their inability to continue working in that same capacity.

8 Steps to Begin Living Again

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

8 Steps to Begin Living Again | FocusWithMarlene.com

One of the questions people ask when they attend support groups is, How can I enjoy life again when I have just lost the most important thing in life?

As we continue this series on recovering from losses, we will address not only healing and recovery, but rebuilding.

Recovering from a significant loss is never easy. If you lost your spouse, child, parent or best friend, that loss takes center stage and everything else is blocked from view. You may have resumed the daily tasks of life but find no pleasure in them.

Recovery includes the need to not only accept and let go but think about your future. But where do you begin?

You can’t begin to imagine the possibility of happiness in the future without your loved one. You might have accepted, but you can’t envision anything positive to look forward to.

Reframe to See More of Your Life

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Adjust Your Focus: Reframe Your Circumstances | FocusWithMarlene.com

From childhood on, we are creating beliefs about ourselves and our world based on the interpretations we make. We make assumptions and expectations that form a framework from which to appropriately respond to life. These frames of reference motivate and guide our thinking, our emotional responses, and our behavior.

How we frame our world creates meaning and helps us navigate the ups and downs of living.

Enlarging our frame of reference

If our frames of reference are small and limiting, our lives will be restrictive, negative and inflexible.

If we enlarge our frames of reference, we see a bigger picture and have a better understanding of occurrences that are causing pain and anxiety.

Accept Your Loss and Reclaim Your Life

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Learning to Live Again in a New World, by Marlene Anderson | focuswithmarlene.com

Memorials are over – people have gone home – life goes on.

Or has it?

Life might have resumed for others who have gone home to their families and familiar routines. But your life has been drastically changed. Life doesn’t just “go on” for you.

Redefining life

No matter what tragedy or loss you have encountered, it has drastically disrupted your life. Before you can establish a new normal, you need to first let go of what was.

To let go, you need to stop struggling. There is a natural resistance to accepting the ending of something valuable and important. When you continue to resist, however, you risk getting stuck in sorrow, sadness and depression; and maybe anger and resentment.

Will I ever Experience Joy Again?

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Learning to Live Again in a New World, by Marlene Anderson | focuswithmarlene.com

I asked a friend recently who attends a grief and loss support group, what one thing that people attending wanted – one thing they hoped for.

Her answer: to experience joy again.

For anyone who has lost a significant person in their life, that question is high on their list of doubts and uncertainties.

Will I ever be happy again? That person I lost had been an integral part of my life and my identity. When we were together, I felt whole and complete. It was where I found pleasure, joy and the most contentment and happiness.

A New Structure for My Life

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Learning to Live Again in a New World, by Marlene Anderson | focuswithmarlene.com

We think of losses as something we quickly address and then dismiss. But the more significant the loss, the more the impact it has on every area of our life: social, financial, personal, family, friendships, and our past as well as our future.

Loss asks the question, where do I go from here?

There are many books on the market that speak to that early universal pain. We can experience a multitude of emotions: shock, anger, fear, anxiety, relief, shame, guilt, etc. Our pain will gradually recede as life demands we engage again to pay the bills and feed our families. But little information is offered to help us create a new roadmap moving forward.

My newly released book, Learning to Live Again in a New World, addresses that need.

Peace

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

Peace | focuswithmarlene.com

Earlier this month, the Skagit Valley Chorale gave two performances at McIntyre Hall in Mt. Vernon, WA. Joining with our 100+ singing group was a band that complemented so many of the pieces we sang.

It isn’t just the audience who enjoys our performances, but those of us who are a part of this chorale and who love the opportunity to sing under the direction of our talented and gifted director, Dr. Adam Burdick.

It is the tradition that at the end of our Christmas concerts the members of the chorale go down into the aisles of the audience to sing our closing number, “Peace, Peace.” It is a moving experience for both singers and those in attendance.

A friend of mine who came for the first time to one of our concerts told me afterwards that when we sang “Peace, Peace” in the aisles surrounding them on all sides, it was like having an “invisible blanket of peace wrapped around me.”

The Gift of Christmas

Posted by Marlene Anderson, MA, LMHC, NCC

The Gift of Christmas | Focuswithmarlene.com

No matter where we are in our grief journey, or how long ago our loved one died, when holidays come, we are reminded of how special they were in our lives.
How can we possibly celebrate the holidays without them?

To help understand what it means to celebrate our loved ones, let me share a personal story.

When my husband and I moved to Washington, it was because we wanted to spend our retirement years enjoying boating in the San Juan Islands. We moved into a community where others also loved cruising, joined their yacht club and spent many happy hours with people who became good friends.

When my husband was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor, without a moment’s hesitation, a friend started a list of people who would be willing to take him to his radiation treatments 5 days a week.