Good day, today’s podcast is

“Ways to Help You Release Sorrow and Grief.

I have been a United Church of

Canada Minister for over 35 years and I have ministry in many churches. I have

seen Grief and loss take on many forms. Grief is a natural response to loss.

It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is

taken away. Often, the pain of loss can feel overwhelming. You may experience

all kinds of difficult and unexpected emotions, from shock or anger to

disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness. The pain of grief can also disrupt your

physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think straight.

These are normal reactions to loss—and the more significant the loss, the more

intense your grief will be.

Coping

with the loss of someone or something you love is one of life’s largest

challenges. You may associate grieving with the death of a loved

one—which

is often the cause of the most intense type of grief—but any loss can cause

grief, including:

Termination from a job, company closing, serious illness,

divorce or break-up of a relationship, financial stability, a miscarriage,

retirement, death of a pet, loss of a friendship, loss of a dream, loss of

safety after trauma, selling the family home, and so on so forth.

Even

subtle losses in life can trigger a sense of grief. For example, you might

grieve after moving away from home, children changing schools, graduating from

college, or changing jobs.

Whatever

your loss, it's personal to you, so don't feel ashamed about how you feel, or

believe that it's somehow only appropriate to grieve for certain things. If the

person, animal, relationship, or situation was significant to you, it's normal

to grieve the loss you're experiencing. Whatever the cause of your grief,

though, there are healthy ways to cope with the pain, in time, can ease your

sadness and help yourself come to terms with your loss, find new meaning, and

eventually move on with your life.

It can appear when you least expect it, such as when you

finally think you’ve processed what has happened. At other times, it may feel

heavy, like a crushing weight you can’t quite crawl out from under. Many of us

have been taught not to cry in north American culture especially males as it is

a sign of weakness.

In fact, processing grief can take significant time and

various rituals. Some even say we don’t actually...