There is life after your loss
Meet Michael Smith
Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist®,
Communications Consultant
Michael Smith has been helping others overcome their losses as a certified Grief Recovery Specialist of over 10 years. He specializes in teaching others the tools of Grief Recovery and supporting them through the exploration of their relationship to pain, isolation, and loneliness. Michael became a Grief Recovery Specialist in 2010 after applying the tools of the Grief Recovery Method in his own life. He now seeks to give others the tools and support they need to free themselves from the bondage of unresolved grief and all of the negative ways it can affect your life.
What is Grief?
Defining Grief – Grief is the conflicting natural emotional response to a Loss of any kind. Our desire for a different past.
Defining Loss – Loss is the feeling of grief when deprived of someone or something of value.
Conflicting feelings are both positive and negative. Normal feelings of anger, fear, hurt and frustration are typical present in conflicts.
Losses can be both tangible and intangible. There are over 40 documented types of Loss:
Tangible: Death, Divorce, Marriage, Job loss, changes in financial state, moving
Intangible: Safety, Trust, Approval and Faith
What does a Grief Recovery Specialist (GRS) do?
I am the heart with ears!
I help grievers, by providing a road map for completing the pain caused by a significant emotional loss. I help them:
- Gain awareness – that an incomplete relationship exists.
- Accept responsibility – that in part you are the cause of the incompleteness.
- Identify recovery communications
- Take actions – to communicate them.
- Move beyond loss saying good-bye to undelivered communications.
Is it normal to have these complicated emotions? — Yes.
We are uniquely fashioned, no two people experience loss or in this case grief in a “normal” fashion. The way in which we responded to a loss and the feelings that are expressed, are usually the result of what we’ve learned in the past.
We’ve learned the Myths:
- Don’t feel bad.
- Replace the loss
- Grieve alone
- Time heals all wounds
- Be strong for others
- Keep busy
As a GRS, I show how the myths have contributed to the conflicting emotions, and I provide the proper tools to assist in the grievers recovery.
Is it normal to struggle with coping with our emotions? — Yes.
Defining Coping – Emotion-focused coping is a type of stress management that attempts to reduce negative emotional responses associated with stress. Distraction, e.g. keeping yourself busy to take your mind off the issue.
Coping is the ability to face and deal with responsibilities, problems, or difficulties, especially successfully or in a calm or adequate manner
Loss is inevitable. Sometimes loss is even predictable. In spite of these truths, we receive no formal training in how to respond to the events that are guaranteed to happen and sure to cause pain and disruption.
What is the most common forms of grief people seek help for?
Losses can be both tangible and intangible.
The most common losses associated with grief, are normally tangible. There are over 40 documented types of
Losses: (Refer to list of 40+ losses)
The in-tangible losses that we experience also have long lasting effects on our longterm happiness.
Tangible: Death, Divorce, Marriage, Job loss, changes in financial state, moving
In-tangible: Safety, Trust, Approval and Faith
