Mourning a pet in today's world isn't easy...
It doesn't matter if it's a dog, a cat, a horse, a rabbit, a snake, a ferret, a goat, a pig, a fish, a bird, a hamster, a lizard, or a giraffe...
Social norms make the already-challenging process of grief...
Almost impossible when it comes to grieving a pet.
In fact, research published in the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services concludes that pet loss grief is often devalued.
Along these same lines, a study published in the Journal of Mental Health Counseling finds pet loss grief to be largely disenfranchised grief.
What is disenfranchised grief?
In a nutshell, it's grief that's been trivialized by social norms.
In other words, pet loss grief is seen, by society as a whole, as something less than...
Legitimate grief.
Well, because...
- Research published in the journal Anthrozoos ALSO finds pet loss can, among certain populations, manifest as complicated grief—that's long-term, unresolved, debilitating grief—and may even result in PTSD.
- A study published in the journal Society & Animals ALSO finds that not only does pet loss grief rival that of human death-grief, but in many cases, participants reported more intense feelings regarding the pet loss.
- Research published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, ALSO concludes that pet guardianship evokes emotional responses that are similar to those experienced within...the parent-child dynamic. And just like the saying goes, the worst thing a parent can experience is...the death of a child.
Your grief is serious stuff.
And it should be treated as such.
Lucky for us, a forward-thinking school of mental health called Narrative Psychology offers ideal solutions for our grief.
In fact, it's as if this modality was custom-made for grief.
Of all kinds.
It's through narrative psychology that we:
- Best find meaning
- Externalize our pain
- Discover benefit
- Bridge the seeming void left by "loss"
A hand-crafted DIY solution for your pet loss grief.
- In your own space
- At your own pace
- Less the cost of therapy
