Podcast Notes for Episode #5

The article below accompanies the podcast and lists the suggestions given in the podcast. Listen to the podcast now then come back and follow up with the tips offered below.

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Getting Help

If you've visited the Mom's Halo forums then you have no doubt seen me suggest counseling as way to help work through the rough spots in our grief. So many times we get scared and anxious about going to a counselor. I don't know what it is, but it seems society has made us feel like we are somehow completely crazy if we go see a counselor to help us heal from our grief or any number of emotional issues. But this is not how it should be.

This month's podcast we feature Dr. Jeanell Norvell. Jeanell is a Licensed Professional Counselor who maintains a private practice in Montgomery, Alabama. I talked to Jeanell about what one can expect from counseling, why counseling is important to our health and what things we can do to help work through our grief.

In the interview Jeanell talks about ways to find a counselor. Here are some of the links she gives us:

• The National Board of Certified Counselors
  www.nbcc.org (click on "find a counselor")
• The Yellow Pages (your local phone book)
• Referral from a friend
• Employee Assistance Programs (talk to the Human Resources specialist at your place of employment)
• Church/Pastor referrall
• www.211.org (information and referral search engine)
  2-1-1 provides free and confidential information and referral. Call 2-1-1 for help with food, housing, employment, health care, counseling and more.

Jeanell also provides six things you can do to begin working through your grief. They are:

1. Understand grief and what it means. Visit www.coping.org and read over the information on "stages of grief." Click on "stages of the Loss Process" at the website (they are now affiliated with Livestrong.org).
2. Shift your thought process to celebrating your Mom (or the person you have lost). Suggestions for helping with this include putting together a scrap book and focusing on special moments. You can even take some small things that belong to your Mom or remind you of her and put them away to share at a later time. This provides an opportunity to recelebrate her life.
3. Establish rituals for the holidays and special occasions. An example would be to go to the gravesite and have a celebration (with balloons, a poem, a card - have some of your support network with you when you go).
4. Tune in to self-care
   • spend time with your family that is still here.
   • Watch your diet and exercise regularly.
   • use imagery or relaxation exercises to reduce stress
   • get your calendar out and plan ahead for things to be sure that you include time for taking care of yourself
5. Journaling or letter writing are also very effective tools. These help to release some of the emotions you may lock up inside.
6. Positive Affirmations. Write down positive affirmations on post-it notes or papers and put them where you will see them to provide the support that you need. These can be special messages that your Mom used to say to you that you still need to hear. Or maybe something you would have like to have heard but never did. Write them down and post them around your house (bathroom mirrors and refrigerators are great spots for positive affirmations).

There is more in the podcast, so be sure to listen if you haven't already. Jeaneall provides some wonderful insight. You can learn more about Jeanell from her website at www.jeaneallnorvelltherapy.com.

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