"The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt. "


Posts tagged with 'grief'

Complicated grief - how common is it?

24th September 2015

I recently wrote a blog post "Grief is our natural human response to bereavement" where I said that mourning may well involve powerful feelings of yearning, disbelief, anger & depression. When we have lost someone who has been very important to us, we gradually need to learn to live without …

Grief is our natural human response to bereavement

22nd September 2015

When we're badly physically injured, there may be horrible pain and loss of ability to function normally. Then though there is typically a gradual recovery. Scars may be left; there may be some persisting vulnerability, but basically our bodies are wonderful at self-healing. There are parallels between wounds due to …

Kathy Shear workshop on complicated grief: identification (2nd post)

19th June 2015

I wrote a blog post yesterday morning setting the scene for a two day workshop I was about to go to with Professor Kathy Shear on her treatment approach for complicated grief. Well, how did the day go? It was very interesting, inspiring, and also a little too much "simply …

Kathy Shear workshop on complicated grief: before (1st post)

18th June 2015

I was struck by a couple of papers on grief that I read last year. One was Kathy Shear & colleagues' "Treatment of complicated grief in elderly persons: a randomized clinical trial" and the other was Bryant et al's "Treating prolonged grief disorder: a randomized clinical trial." I was impressed …

Treatment of prolonged grief disorder

26th December 2014

A couple of recent research studies have underlined the value of specific forms of psychotherapy for complicated grief reactions: Shear, M. K., et al. (2014). "Treatment of complicated grief in elderly persons: a randomized clinical trial." JAMA Psychiatry 71(11): 1287-1295. IMPORTANCE: Complicated grief (CG) is a debilitating condition, most prevalent …

Peer groups, Cumbria spring group – fourth morning: honouring my mother

9th May 2010

The last morning of the group. I wake a bit "troubled". This is the ebb and flow of the group. Feelings tend to be more intense here. As the "group river" flows its four day course, I know that I'm likely to move through a series of different emotional states. …

Recent research: six studies on the long-term effects of abuse & deprivation

20th August 2009

Here are half a dozen studies on the long-term effects of various forms of abuse & deprivation. Paras et al systematically reviewed the association between a history of sexual abuse and a lifetime diagnosis of a somatic disorder. They found significant links with functional gastrointestinal disorders, nonspecific chronic pain, psychogenic …

Ways of coping: theory & personal experience

25th January 2009

In blog postings earlier this month, I've talked about supporting my Mum after her recent couple of strokes. She's been shipped through three different hospitals and now is more peaceful in a nursing home. It's sad - very sad at times - and it's great that she seems more comfortable, …

Friendship, life planning, & expressing emotions

11th January 2009

Yesterday and today are a check-in time with my friend Larry. I've written in a previous blog post how Larry and I have met every three or four months for many years specifically to review how our lives are going and to plan and prioritize our goals for the next …