Overlooked Ways To Manage Holiday Grief This Season
For some people, the holidays are a time of love, joy, and happy memories; a time for reconnecting with family and old friends. But for many people, the holiday grief can be completely overwhelming. The same experiences that are cause for extreme joy, become triggers for the deep sadness associated with loss of loved ones. If you are one of those people who has experienced a deep loss and are struggling to work through your holiday grief, I first want to say, I am so sorry. You are not alone. I’m here for you, and I want to help.
Holiday grief, Callahan Techniques Thought Field Therapy Tapping, Christmas Grief, coping with loss during the holidays, first holiday without a loved one, grief during the holidays, mourning during the holidays
The Truth About Holiday Grief
Holiday grief is a completely natural response to the pain of losing a loved one. The grieving process is often as unique as the person experiencing it. For some, the tears don’t stop flowing. For others, there are no tears, just anger—or avoidance altogether. Regardless of how you are experiencing your grief, I want you to know, it’s perfectly normal.
The best thing you can do for yourself right now, is to give yourself permission to walk through that grief. It’s tempting to try and avoid the holiday grief and to pretend that everything is ok (especially if it’s been a while since you lost your loved one. Sometimes people make the mistake of thinking is shouldn’t hurt this much at this point—but nothing could be further from the truth. If you don’t take the time to process through your holiday grief, you’ll end up stuck in it, which could cause even more pain.
By finding your way to this blog, you’ve shown that you’re ready to start your journey toward healing. In order to help you start that process, today I want to share a technique that I have seen work for many of my clients. It’s called Thought Field Therapy.
Manage Your Holiday Grief Using TFT
Thought Field Therapy is most likely unlike any other technique you’ve seen or heard of. And I’m not going to lie to you, it can feel a little weird at first. But I can tell you, it works. Unlike traditional talk therapy, TFT doesn’t require you to talk about what you’re feeling at all – although you can, and many of my clients do in our private sessions. Thought Field Therapy uses the same pressure points used in acupuncture, and by tapping on those points, communicates with the lower part of the brain – the part that has no words. This technique essentially takes you out of the overwhelming emotions you are experiencing in the moment, and allows you to see your grief for what it is, process through it without the emotions, and begin to accept that your life will be different moving forward because of that loss.
You can find more information about how and why TFT works on my blog, but I have learned from my own experience and that of my clients, that the best way to learn about TFT, is to try it. With that said, if you are experiencing the overwhelming emotions related to holiday grief right now, I invite you follow these steps:
Step 1. Rate your level of upset, on a scale from 1-10.
Step 2. Using your index and middle finger, tap the following pressure points about 10 times each:
Side of hand
Under nose
Beginning of eyebrow
Under eye
Under arm
Under collarbone
Little finger
Under collarbone
Index finger
Under collarbone
Callahan Techniques Thought Field Therapy Tapping Points
Step 3. Tap the gamut spot (see the image above) and:
Close eyes
Open eyes
Keep head level and look down and left with your eyes
Keep head level and look down and right with your eyes
Roll your eyes in a complete circle in one direction
Roll your eyes in a complete circle in the other direction
Hum a couple bars of any tune (yes, hum. I know this may seem strange but please, give it a chance. It’s helped thousands of people and now it can help you, if you give it a chance.)
Count to five
Hum again
Step 4. Tap pressure points again, about 10 times each:
Side of hand
Under nose
Beginning of eyebrow
Under eye
Under arm
Under collarbone
Little finger
Under collarbone
Index finger
Under collarbone
Step 5. Rate your level of upset again, on a scale from 1-10.
Repeat steps 2-5 until:
Your rating is a 1 or 2, then go to Step 6.
OR
Your rating stops changing. This doesn’t mean that TFT can’t help you, it simply means that this tapping algorithm isn’t working for you. Skip Step 6 and contact us now for further guidance.
Step 6. While continuously tapping the gamut spot and holding your head level, move your eyes in a vertical line from the floor to the ceiling slowly (should take 6-7 seconds).
If you reached a point where your level of upset stopped changing, or if you got your upset down to a 1 or 2 and now need support and/or guidance in processing through your grief, contact us today to schedule an appointment.
Holiday grief is a very real concern for many people during this time of year. But grief isn’t limited to the holidays. For more information about how grief can effect all aspects of your life, watch this video.