BY SUSAN STONE, LCSW
Despite the joy and merriment of the holiday season, the recent loss or continuing
absence of a beloved animal companion can sometimes intensify or reinitiate the
mourning process. Memories of past seasons shared with departed pets can evoke
strong feelings of sadness. Some of us may attempt to keep these feelings inside, for
fear of dampening the holidays spirits of others around us or a fear that there is
something wrong. We may experience more dreams about our lost friend, sense their
presence or absence more acutely, or be overtaken by feelings of guilt about having
moved on without them.
More
Despite the joy and merriment of the holiday season, the recent loss or continuing
absence of a beloved animal companion can sometimes intensify or reinitiate the
mourning process. Memories of past seasons shared with departed pets can evoke
strong feelings of sadness. Some of us may attempt to keep these feelings inside, for
fear of dampening the holidays spirits of others around us or a fear that there is
something wrong. We may experience more dreams about our lost friend, sense their
presence or absence more acutely, or be overtaken by feelings of guilt about having
moved on without them.
More
| HOW A KITTEN HELPED OUR FAMILY AFTER A LOSS |
By ROSEMARIE ONWUKWE
My daughter and I screamed and clutched each other as the tiny furry creature ran across
the kitchen floor. I was sick of the mice, they terrified me.
“What we need is a good mouser,” my husband said, amused. He really did not
understand my phobia about creatures so small. And I couldn’t explain how such tiny
things struck fear in my heart. We had tried everything, traps, monthly exterminators, but
living in an old row house in the District of Columbia did not help.
My husband suddenly died several months later, and we all struggled to cope. Nine
months after his death, I worried about my 12-year-old daughter, who had retreated into
the world of books and was not doing much socializing.
More
My daughter and I screamed and clutched each other as the tiny furry creature ran across
the kitchen floor. I was sick of the mice, they terrified me.
“What we need is a good mouser,” my husband said, amused. He really did not
understand my phobia about creatures so small. And I couldn’t explain how such tiny
things struck fear in my heart. We had tried everything, traps, monthly exterminators, but
living in an old row house in the District of Columbia did not help.
My husband suddenly died several months later, and we all struggled to cope. Nine
months after his death, I worried about my 12-year-old daughter, who had retreated into
the world of books and was not doing much socializing.
More
| HONORING COMPANIONS THROUGH ADVOCACY |
By SUSAN STONE, LCSW
The difficult passage of healing from the loss of a beloved animal companion can be an
emotionally tumultuous experience. People sometimes wonder: is it harder when your
relationship lasted a decade or more? Is the untimely death of a younger animal harder to
bear than that of a companion who lived a full life? Is a sudden traumatic loss worse than
the expected outcome of a chronic illness? Such comparisons can not be made; each
has its own associated recovery tasks which emanate from the quality and meaning of
the relationship that was lost.
Feelings can run the gamut from intense grief to disbelief to anger — not unlike the
stages of grief associated with human loss.
More
The difficult passage of healing from the loss of a beloved animal companion can be an
emotionally tumultuous experience. People sometimes wonder: is it harder when your
relationship lasted a decade or more? Is the untimely death of a younger animal harder to
bear than that of a companion who lived a full life? Is a sudden traumatic loss worse than
the expected outcome of a chronic illness? Such comparisons can not be made; each
has its own associated recovery tasks which emanate from the quality and meaning of
the relationship that was lost.
Feelings can run the gamut from intense grief to disbelief to anger — not unlike the
stages of grief associated with human loss.
More
| HOW TO DEAL WITH PET LOSS & GUILT |
By SUSAN STONE, LCSW
For many who have suffered the recent loss of a pet, feelings of guilt may linger,
sometimes prolonging the grief process and adding a discomforting component to the
already excruciating mourning process. This all too common phenomena may
sometimes cause a tendency to “second guess” decisions made before or during the
illness or loss of the animal companion or to imagine that other choices might have
resulted in a different outcome.
More
For many who have suffered the recent loss of a pet, feelings of guilt may linger,
sometimes prolonging the grief process and adding a discomforting component to the
already excruciating mourning process. This all too common phenomena may
sometimes cause a tendency to “second guess” decisions made before or during the
illness or loss of the animal companion or to imagine that other choices might have
resulted in a different outcome.
More
| PET BEREAVEMENT GROUPS - WHAT HAPPENS, WHO ATTENDS? |
By SUSAN STONE, LCSW
Across the country, more communities and veterinary practices are recognizing and
responding the need for pet owner bereavement services. We know that the grief
response associated with pet loss can be every bit as acute - sometimes more so - than
responses to human loss. Yet, the compassionate understanding associated with the
need to be out of the office for a family death is rarely extended to those suffering from the
loss of their beloved animal companion.
More
Across the country, more communities and veterinary practices are recognizing and
responding the need for pet owner bereavement services. We know that the grief
response associated with pet loss can be every bit as acute - sometimes more so - than
responses to human loss. Yet, the compassionate understanding associated with the
need to be out of the office for a family death is rarely extended to those suffering from the
loss of their beloved animal companion.
More
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