Grief Counseling Archives | Grapevine Christian Counseling

Coping Mechanisms for Stress: How to Help Your Body and Mind

By Grapevine Christian Counseling|September 30th, 2024|Anger Issues, Anxiety, Depression, Featured, Grief Counseling, Psychological Testing|

What stress is looking back at you today from the mirror? The signs of stress are visible in the faces and behaviors of many people, and you and I are likely no different. The difference, however, is in how we face these challenges. We face many hurdles that are simply too high and too wide to get around and navigate sensibly, and too tough to get through on our own. These challenges are interpreted by our minds and bodies as stressful situations. After we experience a traumatic event, the human psyche is prone to have a strong and lingering reaction. It is important to be proactive and learn healthy coping mechanisms for stress, including getting the appropriate care and support we need to dial down our symptoms and stressful feelings. Frequently, reactions to a stressful event are physical and emotional and can include the following factors: An inclination to use more tobacco, alcohol, or other substances that we feel will help us cope. We may experience physical reactions like body pains, headaches, rashes on our skin, and tummy problems. Worsening chronic health problems. Being able to make decisions, fall and stay asleep, and concentrate. Denial and withdrawal. Feelings of anger, fear, frustration, numbness, sadness, shock, and worry. A decline in mental health. Changes in our appetite, levels of energy, desires, and even interests. Being affected by others’ anger and abuse of power, or even the consequences of our own mistakes can lead us to feel grief, anxiety, stress, and worry. It may be a mass shooting or natural disaster, a layoff, or a car accident with crippling financial consequences. Here we discuss some of the ways that you can help not only yourself but also others in your community, to know more about coping [...]

Care, Cope, Counsel: Navigating Grief

Contrary to the popular saying, time does not heal all wounds. What we do with the passage of our days and years is actually what bears the most significant impact on our mental, emotional, and spiritual state. Such is the case when we are navigating the experience of grief. While we often define it in the context of death, grief itself encompasses the emotional anguish we experience following loss of any sort. Death is one of the experiences that we cannot escape in life. When we experience a loss of life, we encounter a range of different emotions. In response, we can feel stunned and bewildered, angry or incredulous. Navigating grief can be uncomfortable and unsettling. Having a roadmap to acquaint ourselves with grief’s stages can help us to better understand the mystery of our thoughts and emotions. Whether the loss is sudden or we expected a loved one to pass away, every loss is different. Our response will not be the same as another person’s, as grief is an experience that impacts human beings differently. The differences don’t only surface between experiences, but also within ourselves. We may grieve various losses differently than how we previously processed the loss of friends and family. It is important to acknowledge that fact and receive grace to absorb the present reality. In whatever stage of grief we find ourselves in, we can be reminded that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter. He is present in times of sorrow, to console us and bottle our tears. He is our peace and strength, even as we hurt and heal. Navigating grief involves various stages. We don’t necessarily advance from one stage to another linearly and we may even experience some phases simultaneously or in a different order. As one might imagine, when we [...]

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