
Grief
“From disconnection to love” series How we deal with grief depends on many factors, such as age, history of love and loss, and life experiences. It is essential to talk about loss and sadness. There are five stages of grief, according to Kubler-Ross (1998), and I will outline the stages here: 1. Denial and isolation are when you first know the news, and there is a state of shock. In denial, we believe it is impossible, and this denial is what helps you to keep balance; following this, there may be a period of personal isolation. 2. Anger is the…

Loneliness
“From disconnection to love” series According to the campaign to end loneliness, it is today’s most significant health concern. Loneliness can come and go, or chronic loneliness, where we all feel this way daily. Emotional loneliness, existential loneliness or social loneliness are not having that close partner or attachment to another, not having that circle of friends, colleagues, or neighbour and feeling a great sense of separateness from other human beings. The World Health Organisation talks about loneliness in the older generations as being one in three people being isolated and lonely and that the effect on mortality is…

Disconnection
“From disconnection to love” series Relationships with others are vital to your health, well-being and your identity. Without connection, we can’t grow, learn, or connect to goodness, life, love, and happiness. Disconnection from ourselves and other people; nature can almost seem normal, like feeling this is your lot in life as long as you can feel safe in an imaginary world of media, for example, where you never get to use your senses, body, and your voice and your intuition. Disconnection is often caused by traumatic events that begin in childhood and continue into adulthood as different personal experiences…

Do you struggle with shyness?
Are you a ‘Be strong’, ‘Don’t feel’ and ‘Don’t have needs’ type of person? You may not be aware of this but read on and be curious if any of this resonates with you. Many people who are busy ‘Being strong’ actually don’t feel particularly strong at all; they feel vulnerable and alone, having to get on with things and not think about themselves for fear of abandonment from others. Not knowing it’s okay to feel your emotions or have needs can cause many diseases after a while. Gabor Mate talks about the auto-immune diseases stemming from never saying No…
Reconnecting
“From disconnection to love” series It is essential to think about yourself, find out what you need to heal, and move forward from the stuck places within yourself and your relationships with other people and the world. To think about seriously connecting with someone, person, animal or place in nature other than through social media Do you need advice from a trusted friend or a solid therapist who can help you mend those places inside of you that have become shut off from others? You may need to talk about what it is like being a single parent and how…