The death of a loved one, and anything that triggers grief, can feel like such a devastating experience. Whether or not you had a chance to say goodbye or be with the person who died, the grief can feel endless and all-consuming. Initially, after the death occurs, friends, family, and neighbors gather around the surviving family member(s) to offer condolences, spend time, celebrate the life, and/or bring food or gifts. Sadly, after a short time, the visits become fewer and further apart, eventually ending altogether, leaving you to deal with your overwhelming grief on your own.

Mourning may bring waves of different emotions. You may feel sadness, anger, guilt, fear, or any number of other negative emotions. Your sleep patterns and/or appetite may change. You may experience brain fog. Some or all of the Stages of Grief as set forth by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross may happen to you. Sometimes there are brief windows of time when you feel better and think you’re moving on, and then, perhaps an anniversary arrives, and the heavy, burdensome emotions return as strongly as if the death had just occurred. Often loved ones die without getting their affairs in order, leaving survivors to deal with those responsibilities, as well.

You don’t have to bear this burden alone. Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping) and hypnotherapy (Guided Imagery) can be enormously helpful in assisting a grieving person to alleviate some of the most overwhelming feelings and experiences. Tapping can begin to lift some of the emotional weight from you so that you’re able to breathe again. Opportunities and choices become clearer to you, and you start to realize that you can get through your life, something which may have seemed insurmountable previously.