How to Cope After the Death of a Pet
Be aware that everyone experiences grief in different ways., Try to avoid feeling guilty for the death of your pet., Confront your feelings of denial., Release your anger in healthy ways., Let yourself feel sad but fight off depression.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Be aware that everyone experiences grief in different ways.
Grief is an intense process and often happens gradually.
Everyone processes grief differently and there no “normal” timeframe from grieving so you may feel better after several weeks, months, or even after a year.
Be patient and allow yourself to experience grief for your pet, as this is an important way to process the death of your pet.Though you may try to ignore the pain, this will likely only make it worse.
Rather than bottle up your feelings and emotions, it can be more useful to allow yourself to go through the stages of grief and heal over time.
You may experience several of the stages of grief or only a few of them, but whatever your grieving process is, it’s important that you let it occur and do not keep your emotions hidden or suppress your feelings of sadness and loneliness. -
Step 2: Try to avoid feeling guilty for the death of your pet.
One of the initial stages of grief is feeling guilt and responsibility for the death of your pet.
Try to avoid asking “what ifs” and thinking about “if only”.
This will only make you feel worse and make it more difficult to move past your grief.Take the time to remind yourself that you are not responsible for the death of your pet and that the death of your pet was out of your control.
If you believe in a higher power, you may pray on your pet’s death and talk to the higher power as a way to work through your feelings of guilt. , Another initial stage of grief is denial, where you may feel like your pet is still alive.
You may have difficulty coming home to not find your pet waiting for you or not having to put out dinner every night, like you usually do, for your pet.
Rather than tell yourself your pet might still be alive somewhere, it’s important that you are upfront and honest about the reality of the situation.
Denial of your pet’s death will make it more difficult for you to move past your pet’s death and cope., A key emotion in the grieving process is anger, which can be directed at the driver of the car that killed your pet, the illness that killed her, or the vet who “failed” to save your pet’s life.
Though your anger may feel justified, holding on to it can lead to feelings of resentment and rage, which will only make you feel worse in the long run.
Anger can also distract you from resolving your feelings of grief and cause you to hold onto your grief, rather than release it and start to heal.Releasing your anger in a healthy way may mean leaning on the support of your family and friends, or focusing on self-care, where you do activities that make you feel good like hiking outdoors, doing a creative project, or socializing with good friends.
Think of activities that can help you to release your anger in a way that feels useful and healthy, rather than destructive and painful. , A natural symptom of grief is feelings of depression, which can leave you feeling powerless to cope with your emotions.
While it is healthy and important that you let yourself feel sad about the death of your pet, feeling depressed can cause you to feel worn out, lonely, and isolated.Fight off feelings of depression by leaning on friends and family, occupying your time with activities you enjoy doing, and spending time creating a tribute for your pet.
Focus on trying to work through your feelings of sadness so they do not develop into feelings of depression. -
Step 3: Confront your feelings of denial.
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Step 4: Release your anger in healthy ways.
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Step 5: Let yourself feel sad but fight off depression.
Detailed Guide
Grief is an intense process and often happens gradually.
Everyone processes grief differently and there no “normal” timeframe from grieving so you may feel better after several weeks, months, or even after a year.
Be patient and allow yourself to experience grief for your pet, as this is an important way to process the death of your pet.Though you may try to ignore the pain, this will likely only make it worse.
Rather than bottle up your feelings and emotions, it can be more useful to allow yourself to go through the stages of grief and heal over time.
You may experience several of the stages of grief or only a few of them, but whatever your grieving process is, it’s important that you let it occur and do not keep your emotions hidden or suppress your feelings of sadness and loneliness.
One of the initial stages of grief is feeling guilt and responsibility for the death of your pet.
Try to avoid asking “what ifs” and thinking about “if only”.
This will only make you feel worse and make it more difficult to move past your grief.Take the time to remind yourself that you are not responsible for the death of your pet and that the death of your pet was out of your control.
If you believe in a higher power, you may pray on your pet’s death and talk to the higher power as a way to work through your feelings of guilt. , Another initial stage of grief is denial, where you may feel like your pet is still alive.
You may have difficulty coming home to not find your pet waiting for you or not having to put out dinner every night, like you usually do, for your pet.
Rather than tell yourself your pet might still be alive somewhere, it’s important that you are upfront and honest about the reality of the situation.
Denial of your pet’s death will make it more difficult for you to move past your pet’s death and cope., A key emotion in the grieving process is anger, which can be directed at the driver of the car that killed your pet, the illness that killed her, or the vet who “failed” to save your pet’s life.
Though your anger may feel justified, holding on to it can lead to feelings of resentment and rage, which will only make you feel worse in the long run.
Anger can also distract you from resolving your feelings of grief and cause you to hold onto your grief, rather than release it and start to heal.Releasing your anger in a healthy way may mean leaning on the support of your family and friends, or focusing on self-care, where you do activities that make you feel good like hiking outdoors, doing a creative project, or socializing with good friends.
Think of activities that can help you to release your anger in a way that feels useful and healthy, rather than destructive and painful. , A natural symptom of grief is feelings of depression, which can leave you feeling powerless to cope with your emotions.
While it is healthy and important that you let yourself feel sad about the death of your pet, feeling depressed can cause you to feel worn out, lonely, and isolated.Fight off feelings of depression by leaning on friends and family, occupying your time with activities you enjoy doing, and spending time creating a tribute for your pet.
Focus on trying to work through your feelings of sadness so they do not develop into feelings of depression.
About the Author
Donald Robinson
Specializes in breaking down complex cooking topics into simple steps.
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