How Do You Know When You Need Help?

The stress of losing your husband can lead to a lot of emotional problems that can interfere with your daily living.

Before I go any further, I’m not talking about grief which is a healthy expression of your emotions.  I’m talking about being tired all the time and not wanting to see anyone – your friends, children and grandchildren.  You don’t have any joy at all in your life and your feel hopeless or your thinking about suicide.  If this sounds like you than please get some help right away!

Once we slip from grief into depression it’s very hard to get back on our feet again. One of the biggest barriers to seeking professional help is the stigma attached to mental illness.  They may feel ashamed that they can’t seem to get out of their depression on their own.  Mental illness is still widely misunderstood but don’t let stigma stand in the way of getting help.

Some places to go for help are:

·         Clinical Social Workers

·         Faith-based counselors

·         Licensed Professional Counselors

·         Family Therapists

·         Mental Health Counselors

·         Nurse Psychotherapists

·         Psychiatrists

·         Psychologists

A good place to start is with your doctor because you already have history with him/her.  They may be able to suggest a professional who can help you, someone they know that you will be comfortable with.

Regrets When Dying

People change when they are faced with their own mortality.  They experience a variety of emotions as they seek peace with their life and their death.

There seems to be a common theme to the regrets they have:

I wish I didn’t work so hard.  A lot of men feel that they missed their children’s youth and didn’t play with their family enough.

I wish I’d had the courage to live the life I dreamed about.  At the end people think of the dreams they didn’t pursue and with the loss of their health, it is too late.

I wish I’d express my feelings more.  Sometimes we are so worried about keeping the peace with others that we settle for a mediocre existence.

I wish I had kept up my friendships.  It’s so easy to get caught up in our busy lives and let our friendships slip away.  In the end love and friendship is the only thing that matters,  but ill health can make you too weary to get in touch with old friends.

I wish I had been more positive and happy.  Sometimes the so called “comfort” of keeping everything the same can be a trap.  Fear of change makes you pretend to be happy while deep inside you long to try something new and perhaps be a little bit silly just for the fun of it.