On Grief. On My Grief.

I feel that I'm qualified to speak to grief. That deep, dark and ugly grief. The grief that changes the very fibre of your being, never to be the same again. The grief that feels like you're being punched hard and you physically flinch to get away from the pain, but there's nowhere to go, it's just pain. The grief that feels like you're on fire and drowning at the same time. 

My grief experience taught me that although people mean well, they can say some thoughtless things that hurt. My grief experience taught me that society thinks that the remedy to "fix" the pain is to get another animal. My grief experience taught me that how I was held, or not held, contributed to my healing, or lack thereof. 

My journey with the excruciating pain of my grief taught me some very important things that you must understand. No one can take that vile pain away. There is no "cure" for grief. Grief is an ugly beast that has its own timeline. And that timeline isn't linear.

The loss of my Cheeks and the deep grief that followed compelled me to complete a Diploma of Pet Bereavement Counselling. I did this for two reasons. Firstly, for self-healing and to better understand my grief. Secondly, so I could be the person for others that I needed on my journey and to help them to live with pet loss. I also opened up my work as a Death Doula to include supporting pets (and their humans) at the end of their lives.