In addition to "Don't feel bad,” some people may encourage you to replace the loss and add, “you can get another dog.”
Have you heard, "Don't feel bad, there are plenty of fish in the sea"? Before you heard this, did you know that you were dating a fish??
Or “Don’t feel bad, here’s a cookie”?
Or any other combination of “don’t feel” and let’s move forward with something else?
When it comes down to it, we can replace our feelings with something else that makes us feel different, but doesn’t necessarily make us feel better. We may even grow up believing that every loss is replaceable. It can start with a cookie during childhood, but lead to other things later in life like more food, sex, alcohol, drugs, etc.
When you think back, how did these two statements show up in your life? How does it affect you now?
I’ve met a lot of people who have been told don’t feel bad, but the problem is: they feel bad! They’ve lived a lot of years stuffing down their emotions, convincing themselves that they don’t feel, and in turn, having difficulty in identifying what they are feeling in any given moment.
More recently I completed the program with a 72-year-old woman. It is a truly amazing process to see the insightful “light bulb” moments when people begin connecting things in their life. Sometimes it’s the understanding of where an emotion comes from—or even identifying an emotion—that allows a person to move towards completion.
The Grief Recovery Program helps people to:
~Bring awareness to the myths that have been passed along to them
~Identify how these myths affect their everyday lives and relationships
~Begin identifying feelings and emotions around experiences in their lives
If this sounds familiar to you, together we can begin unraveling the things that have been passed down to you and move towards completion in your experiences and relationships. Please reach out with questions, comments or concerns.
As always, however you are feeling today, you are never alone. I am here for you. I encourage you to give me a call 951.523.7959, send me an email at Teresa@restorationshoppe.com or schedule a call.
I promise you, I may not know what to say or do, but I can always be a huge heart with ears.
I believe in you,
Teresa