Using meditation to overcome the mourning for your pet
The practice of daily meditation, even for a few minutes, allows us to reach a state of peace and balance, clarifying our thoughts and giving the necessary strength to face difficult situations such as the loss of a pet.
Pets play an essential role in the family environment; they are our children’s first friend, and one that teaches them about love, loyalty, and playing in the grass. They can also help older owners to remain active, providing an incentive to get out and about. And of course, pets always offer loving companionship and unswerving devotion.
Unfortunately, in most cases, pets have a much shorter lifespan than their owner which means at some time you’ll have to deal with their demise. This can be tough but there are some tools you can use to help you with the bereavement.
A family member:
People who experience the loss of a pet mourn the loss in a way that’s similar to losing any other member of the family or close friend. Most owners spend a significant amount of time with their pet and have a close emotional bond; the fact that they aren’t “humans” becomes irrelevant in most cases.
If you don’t give yourself time to properly mourn the loss of your pet, it can affect the physical and mental health of the whole family. Just like any kind of bereavement, it’s possible to end up suffering from depression if you don’t allow yourself to grieve.
Although a bereavement can feel like an emotional loss, when you’re at a low ebb psychologically, it can affect your physical health too. You may find you’re more prone to catching colds and viruses, and it may take longer to fight them off.
Understanding Depression:
There is a fine line between feeling sad and clinical depression and it’s not always easy to distinguish between the two. Depression typically lasts for longer, usually more than two months, and is marked by the inability to experience joy or happiness in anything.
Depression can be triggered by many different things including chemical changes in the brain, side effects of medications and physical illness. From a purely psychological perspective one of the most common causes of depression is bereavement and loss.
Depression in its initial stages presents as disinterest in daily activities, fatigue, and slowness. Progressively, concentration problems, sleep disturbance, and feelings of guilt can develop. More severe depression can cause intrusive thoughts and can even lead to self-harm.
You should never underestimate the potential effect that losing a pet can have. You’ll need time to come to terms with your grief and you may need to utilize a range of different tools to help you cope. According to Numerology Sign, meditation is widely recognized as being one of the best ways to help ward off depression and cope with negative emotions.
Meditation: a path to recovery
A practice that has been around for many centuries, meditation combines breathing techniques and visualization exercises. Its purpose is achieving body and mind balance and while it can be useful at any time, it’s particularly beneficial when you’re feeling low or stressed. This is why meditation can be effective in helping with a bereavement.
Although meditation won’t bring your beloved pet back, it can help you to feel more in control of your emotions. Over time this can help you to slowly heal and process the painful feelings of loss.
There are different kinds of meditation such as mindfulness, Vipassana, transcendental meditation, Metta meditation, and Zen meditation. Whichever you choose to practice, meditation seeks to achieve inner peace and focus.
Meditation stimulates brain activity in the prefrontal cortex, identified by scientists as controlling feelings of anxiety, fear and loneliness. Meditating changes the way different regions of the brain communicate with each other, modifying the way we think.
The ability to focus is improved by meditation and it also replaces negative feelings within the brain. The negative emotions within the brain are eliminated and gradually superseded by more positive thoughts and feelings.
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But how can this help me overcome the loss of my pet?
For overcoming grief, there are tools for guided meditation which incorporate hidden messages aimed primarily at overcoming a loss.
Websites and blogs offer free aid materials such as readings and audio, dedicated specifically to dealing with loss via meditation. An example of this is Ivoox – https://www.ivoox.com/audios_sa_f_1.html – or YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMHDFRzXjJI . If you search online, you will be able to find lots of similar examples too.
Other useful tools
In addition to meditation as a tool to help with grief, there are some additional suggestions which can also help.
Avoid turning your home into a shrine. Some owners decide to keep their pet’s belongings intact after their death: food containers, bed, and toys etc. This can make it extra challenging to overcome grief and eventually move on. Donating them won’t just help you to deal with the loss, it could also make a very real difference to a rescue dog’s life.
Those who share their daily life with a pet usually establish routines: walks in the park, visits to particular places, playdates. When a pet dies, it is important to replace these routines with new activities such as exercise or meditation to prevent yourself dwelling on how things used to be.
Avoid hiding the pain. As with any grieving process, it is important to share our feelings with family and friends. There’s no need to feel ashamed about talking of the sadness you are feeling; your loved ones are perfectly placed to provide you with support.
If the grief appears to be lingering longer than you might expect, it’s a good idea to have a chat with your doctor. It is normal to feel sad especially if it was a sudden loss. However, when acute emotions persist and are accompanied by anxiety or sleep problems which last more than a couple of weeks, it’s worth considering if you need a bit of professional help.
Don’t rule out the possibility of adopting a new pet. While some may consider it frivolous or cold-hearted to bring a new pet into your home shortly after losing one, this really isn’t the case. A new pet shouldn’t ever be considered as a replacement but could just bring a little companionship, love, and joy back into your life once more. Thank you for reading. To read more blogs about #Meditation Read more