CGRS: One year on !
Today, I saw a photo of a group of newly qualified Certified Grief Recovery Specialists & it made me realise that it is now 12 months since I took that first step & trained to become a Specialist.Many years ago I had promised myself that if I ever managed to get through all the grief & heartache I'd experienced & carried inside throughout my life, I would try to help others do the same because I knew how awful it was to feel so low & desperate,you would try anything just to feel better. So when the opportunity presented itself, I decided to go for it & even though I had doubts, I just felt I had nothing to lose by doing so. That small step was significant & turned out to be one of the best things I have ever done because finally I learnt there is a better way to feel.....
So what has happened these past 12 months ?
Well quite simply the Grief Recovery Method has changed my life & now instead of carrying a huge weight of grief around with me 24-7 I have space to let things in that give me pleasure & joy; but even more than that, Grief Recovery opened up my whole world in ways I could never have imagined a year ago. I can say truly say that it has been fun, exciting & has made me want to do even more. Now rather than regretting all of those years I spent not being happy, I feel like I have been given a new lease of life & want to share the "gift" I have been given with others.
Particular highlights have been;
- meeting lots of lovely people through Grief Recovery & Access Consciousness.
- learning about Access Consciousness & having my Bars run for the very first time which I can thoroughly recommend !
- appearing in Good Housekeeping magazine earlier this year to tell my story to raise awareness of Grief Recovery UK
- Starting to become more social media savvy & setting up "Scratch", my own blog to record my journey as a certified Grief Recovery Specialist.
- reconnecting with people I have lost touch with but have found once again through social media
- Practicing the Grief Recovery Programmes with the help & support of Ben Calder at the Centre for Integral Health, Shrewsbury. Thanks Ben !
- Receiving testimonials back from grievers I have helped & seeing them being able to move on with their lives.
But has it all been plain sailing ?
Whilst I decided to do Grief Recovery Method because I felt like I had nothing to lose, I must admit that going through the process wasn't easy, because it means recognising there is a problem & confronting some feelings you may have worked hard to escape from which can be tough. Consequently, it may be that some grievers need to summon up a little courage as well as trusting the process to work which can also be hard when you don't know what is going to happen. That said once you realise that our society has been given the wrong tools to deal with loss & grief, both of which are normal & natural, it is then possible to see a light in the distance. However it is clear to me that whilst many people I have talked to throughout the year recognise how much grief can affect their overall mental health & well being, most feel uncomfortable & stuck when it comes to the subject of grief; indeed I convinced myself at times that I didn't want to go there for fear of opening up a whole Pandora's box of emotions, but now that I have, I realise how important it is to talk about this sort of stuff. I would recommend this to anyone because grief recovery really offers you an alternative from feeling stuck & not able to move on with your life; the question is, are you willing to take that first step ?
So what now ?
Having learnt the process of Grief Recovery a year ago, it is something that I have worked through many times to recover from a multitude of losses I have experienced during my life. At the current time of writing, I find myself at a "cross roads" with my career & wonder whether I want to continue with my job because all the hopes, dreams & expectations I once had have now gone & things have changed to the point where I can't continue any longer. I find myself grieving for what might have been & so have decided to use Grief Recovery to help me through this & essentially move on, whether this will be with my current employer or with another or even striking out on my own.... ? Whilst I fear the unknown, I'm also excited by the prospect of a new challenge.....
So watch this space to see what happens, but for now let me end by saying a few thank you's; to Carole Henderson, Phyl Edmonds who work tirelessly promoting Grief Recovery UK & training Specialists up & down the country as well as providing a sympathetic ear & sounding board when you have an issue you can't quite see your way around ! A further vote of thanks also goes to all the ladies in the Grief Recovery office, the group of ladies I qualified (pictured above) with including Karen & the two Di's from the Isle of Man who have all given me great encouragement & support, but the last thank you has to go to John W. James & Russell Friedman for their work in bringing together the Grief Recovery Handbook and without which I wouldn't be doing any of this. I can only imagine how many people it has helped already & how many more it will help in the future, so a sincere & heartfelt thank you from me.
Until the next time.... look after yourself...... x
Whilst I decided to do Grief Recovery Method because I felt like I had nothing to lose, I must admit that going through the process wasn't easy, because it means recognising there is a problem & confronting some feelings you may have worked hard to escape from which can be tough. Consequently, it may be that some grievers need to summon up a little courage as well as trusting the process to work which can also be hard when you don't know what is going to happen. That said once you realise that our society has been given the wrong tools to deal with loss & grief, both of which are normal & natural, it is then possible to see a light in the distance. However it is clear to me that whilst many people I have talked to throughout the year recognise how much grief can affect their overall mental health & well being, most feel uncomfortable & stuck when it comes to the subject of grief; indeed I convinced myself at times that I didn't want to go there for fear of opening up a whole Pandora's box of emotions, but now that I have, I realise how important it is to talk about this sort of stuff. I would recommend this to anyone because grief recovery really offers you an alternative from feeling stuck & not able to move on with your life; the question is, are you willing to take that first step ?
So what now ?
Having learnt the process of Grief Recovery a year ago, it is something that I have worked through many times to recover from a multitude of losses I have experienced during my life. At the current time of writing, I find myself at a "cross roads" with my career & wonder whether I want to continue with my job because all the hopes, dreams & expectations I once had have now gone & things have changed to the point where I can't continue any longer. I find myself grieving for what might have been & so have decided to use Grief Recovery to help me through this & essentially move on, whether this will be with my current employer or with another or even striking out on my own.... ? Whilst I fear the unknown, I'm also excited by the prospect of a new challenge.....
So watch this space to see what happens, but for now let me end by saying a few thank you's; to Carole Henderson, Phyl Edmonds who work tirelessly promoting Grief Recovery UK & training Specialists up & down the country as well as providing a sympathetic ear & sounding board when you have an issue you can't quite see your way around ! A further vote of thanks also goes to all the ladies in the Grief Recovery office, the group of ladies I qualified (pictured above) with including Karen & the two Di's from the Isle of Man who have all given me great encouragement & support, but the last thank you has to go to John W. James & Russell Friedman for their work in bringing together the Grief Recovery Handbook and without which I wouldn't be doing any of this. I can only imagine how many people it has helped already & how many more it will help in the future, so a sincere & heartfelt thank you from me.
Until the next time.... look after yourself...... x
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