How to Overcome the Loss of a Pet: Free Video on Grief - Rachel Devine
Losing a pet is one of the most devastating trauma’s one can go through. The pain can be unbearable. You might ask yourself, why is it so painful? Believe it or not, the answer lies in your childhood. Your pet, for the most part, has typically been the most unconditionally loving part of one’s life. Let’s face it, not too many people are capable of loving unconditionally. A loving dog or cat loves totally unconditionally and that soul to soul love is very rare. So where does our childhood come into play? When our inner child needs are not met from age birth to 7 years, we grow up yearning to have that void within fulfilled. Our pet is quite amazing when it comes to filling our void within with unconditional love and our inner child is thrilled. Of course all of this is done on a subconscious level. So it stands to reason when your loving pet dies, part of the inner child dies along with it and this leaves one in an extremely vulnerable state with an incredible amount of pain and sorrow. Inner healing is crucial to overcome any type of grief.
Losing a pet is one of the most devastating traumas one can go through. The pain can be unbearable. You might ask yourself, Why is it so painful? Believe it or not, the answer lies in your childhood. Your pet, for the most part, has typically been the most unconditionally loving part of one’s life. Let’s face it, not too many people are capable of loving unconditionally. A loving dog or cat loves totally unconditionally, and that kind of soul-to-soul love is very rare. So where does our childhood factor come into play? When our inner child needs are not met from birth to age 7, we grow up yearning to have that void filled. Our pet is quite amazing when it comes to filling our void within with unconditional love, and our inner child is thrilled. Of course, all of this is done on a subconscious level. So it stands to reason that when your loving pet dies, part of the inner child dies along with it, and this leaves one in an extremely vulnerable state with an incredible amount of pain and sorrow. The pain can be devastating. Inner healing is crucial to overcoming any type of grief. It is also crucial to grieve the loss of the pet in order to heal.
You must process grief, when it is happening, for it to be eradicated from your life. If you don’t, it will come back to haunt you in the future without warning. This happened to me when my dog Luke died in 2018. I was devastated by the loss. I didn’t realize fully the dynamics of my inner child dying along with my dog Luke at the time. Consequently, I was hit with a devastating emotional trigger that came out of left field regarding the death of my grandmother at the age of 7. I was brought emotionally back to her funeral and the terror I felt. The trigger was overwhelming and filled me with fear. Luckily, I was able to recognize what was happening and get help. It’s crucial to have someone to talk it out with that totally understands the problem. My experience taught me so much about the inner child factor and grief.
It’s imperative to process grief when it happens, on any level, so it doesn’t hit you in the future like a runaway bullet. Processing grief is the single most loving thing you can do for yourself when a pet or a loved one dies. This applies to any kind of grief. You can also look at your inner child and recognize aspects that are in pain. When you heal your inner child, you heal your life as an adult and it lessens the odds of being hit with an emotional trigger from the past. Grieving the loss of anyone is a crucial part of inner healing.
My free online video, How to Overcome the Loss of a Pet, gives you a step by step guide in getting to the root of the pain from childhood and helping one process the grief of losing your pet and part of your inner child.The awareness you will receive from my video on pet grief will put you in the right direction of healing from the pain and moving on. The video is absolutely free, so take advantage of this opportunity, or pass it along to a friend who is grieving the loss of a pet.
I wish you much peace on your inner healing journey from grief and loss. If you need help with processing your grief, in any form, please contact me. I offer life coaching support.
Rachel Devine is the author of, Discover the Power of the Secret Within - Healing your Inner Child to Manifest your Dreams.
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What is an Emotional Trigger? And How to Deal with them - Rachel Devine
Have you ever been around someone who reacted to a minor situation in a way that was over the top? Have you ever been around a person whose anger is way out of proportion to the angry event? Or perhaps you were around an adult who has violent tendencies. These people are experiencing emotional triggers. Emotional triggers come out of left field and instill havoc in ones psyche. Inner healing is the key to getting rid of the triggers. I know, because I experienced my own share of emotional triggers and I can tell you first hand they can be overwhelming. I did a ton of research on emotional triggers that I share with you.
Let’s explore emotional triggers in detail and see how to deal with them.
Have you ever been around someone who reacted to a minor situation in a way that was over the top? Have you ever been around a person whose anger is way out of proportion to the angry event? Or perhaps you were around an adult who has violent tendencies. These people are experiencing emotional triggers. Emotional triggers come out of left field and instill havoc in ones psyche. Inner healing is the key to getting rid of the triggers. I know, because I experienced my own share of emotional triggers and I can tell you first hand they can be overwhelming. I did a ton of research on emotional triggers that I share with you.
Let’s explore emotional triggers in detail and see how to deal with them.
What are emotional triggers?
Emotional triggers are sudden fear, anger, panic, or sadness, grief, feelings of being overwhelmed, out of control, abandoned, or helpless. They come out of left field as flashbacks, which could involve reliving a memory, emotions, physical sensations or physical symptoms such as a racing heart, rapid breathing, or shaking.
Triggers can stem from many disorders, from obsessive-compulsive disorder to substance abuse to PTSD, depression, and anxiety to name a few. Part of root the cause can be traced back to childhood trauma and experiences.
A person’s strong reaction to being triggered may come as a surprise to others because the response seems out of proportion to the stimulus. But this is because the triggered individual is mentally reliving the original trauma.
For example, an adult who experienced fear of abandonment as a child might feel triggered by an unanswered text. The uncertainty of why they didn’t receive a response may cause them to relive feelings of abandonment, that come unexpectedly.
What causes emotional triggers?:
Anniversaries of traumatic events (car accident, death in the family, divorce or other trauma)
Certain locations, buildings, or environments are associated with trauma
Specific sounds (sirens, screams, gunshots, etc.)
Particular smells (smoke, alcohol, perfume, etc.)
Seeing certain people or types of people
Relationship conflicts or dynamics reminiscent of past abuse
Media depictions of violence, war, abuse, etc.
Physical or medical situations that feel threatening
Being fired from a job
Relationship breakup
Sudden death of a loved one or pet
Any trauma, minor or major, from childhood
Intense arguments
What are emotional responses to triggers?:
Anxiety/panic attacks
Feelings of terror, dread, or impending disaster
Anger/rage that is out of control or violent
Sadness/depressive episodes
Shame/feeling worthless
Detachment/dissociation
Flashbacks/intrusive memories
Physical reactions (shaking, sweating, nausea, etc.)
Avoidance of triggers or numbing emotions
Hypervigilance or being on high alert
Difficulties with emotional regulation
Self-destructive behaviors
Relationship conflicts
The emotional responses can be highly intense and feel disconnected from the present circumstances. Managing triggers often requires recognizing when one is triggered, using grounding techniques, and allowing the wave of emotion to peak and eventually subside. When the actual trigger is happening, it’s hard to grab a tool to cope with it. Having a good therapist around can help tremendously. Especially a therapist who specializes in this type of trauma response.
How to cope with emotional triggers:
While emotional triggers can be disturbing, there are strategies that can help minimize their impact:
Identify your triggers: Reflect on the situations, cues, or thoughts that seem to spark excessive emotional responses. Understanding your personal triggers is the first step.
Breathe: When triggered, practice deep breathing exercises to calm your body's stress response. Slowing your breathing can short-circuit a panic episode. Inhale for 4 seconds. Hold 4. Exhale 4. Repeat. Or breathe into a paper bag. Concentrate on the breaths as a distraction.
Use grounding techniques: engage your senses by touching a textured object, smelling something pleasant, or listening to soothing music. This shifts your focus to the present moment.
Reframe your thoughts: Remind yourself that you are not actually in danger in this moment. The trigger has activated an inappropriate fear response based on past events and in the present moment cannot harm you.
Reach out for support: Discuss triggers with a therapist, a friend or life coach, so you can process the emotions when they arise in a safe environment. A therapist is crucial to have.
Get help: Consider professional treatment. For PTSD sufferers, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, or EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), can effectively treat triggers.
Techniques: Another great technique therapists use is brainspotting. Look for a therapist who specializes in this technique.
Talk it out: Life coach can guide you and help talk things out.
In closing, from my own experience, processing any emotional triggers is the way to eliminate them from coming back. The more you can work on each emotional trigger the better you will be. Left unchecked, these triggers can cause havoc in your life. With patience and professional guidance, emotional triggers can be defused before they spiral into more severe anxiety or traumatic responses. The key is developing healthy coping strategies to manage and ultimately desensitize these exaggerated fear reactions rooted in past hurt. And it’s imperative to heal the inner child, which is the root of most triggers. I can’t stress enough the importance of getting a good therapist or life coach to help cope with triggers.
Rachel Devine is the author of, Discover the Power of the Secret Within - Healing your Inner Child to Manifest your Dreams.