July 26 2021

By: Jackie Naginey Hook
Monday, July 26, 2021

To summarize the study we’ve discussed the past couple of weeks, we look to psychologist Noam Schneck, Ph.D. who states: “… healing and growth may continue even when a person is not actively thinking about the loss.” He adds, “Specifically, during times when a person is engaged in another activity unrelated to grief and not even thinking about their loss, the brain continues to engage with the loss and potentially work through the mourning process.”

This is such great news for mourners who feel guilty when they forget to think about their loved one. Even not thinking about our loved ones can help us heal and healing is what our loved ones would want for us, right? We encourage you to embrace unconscious grief!

https://www.dana.org/article/brains-unconscious-loss-processing-may-support-grief-resolution/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30262338/ 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/focus-forgiveness/201307/conscious-the-unconscious

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/unconscious

Leave a comment
Name*:
Email:
Comment*:

Comments

Please wait

Previous Posts

March 20 2023

Another way to interpret our theme, “Grief is Loss in Pieces,” is to think of how grief can break us into many pieces. Our work in grief is putting those pieces back together. There is a wonderful ...

March 13 2023

As I continue to think about our theme of “Grief is Loss in Pieces,” I’m reminded of the many stories people have shared with me about their grief journeys. Some talk about how at first they were n...

March 6 2023

This month our theme is “Grief is Loss in Pieces.” Many of you have heard of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These “stages” were neve...

February 27 2023

I close this month’s discussion of “Ask Your Heart/Quiet Your Thoughts” with this quote by teacher and author Spring Washam:  Listen to your heart and trust the direction you are being pulled...

February 20 2023

In order to ask your hearts and quiet your thoughts, here are a few more things you can do: Talk about your grief to make more space in your head. Journal and move your thoughts from the inside...

February 13 2023

As we continue with our theme of “Ask Your Heart/Quiet Your Thoughts,” I want to talk about ways to quiet your thoughts so you can ask your heart. The first way that comes to mind is to breathe. Br...

February 6 2023

This month our theme is “Ask Your Heart/Quiet Your Thoughts.” We live in a culture that seems to value the head over the heart. As I’ve written before, I appreciate the Native American Medicine Whe...

January 30 2023

As we close this month’s theme of “Timeless Healing,” I leave you with a quote by Etty Hillesum. I think this quote speaks to the healing that takes place inside of ourselves outside of time and ti...

January 23 2023

This month’s theme of “Timeless Healing” can be thought of in two ways. The one we’ve already discussed is that there is no prescribed timeline. Another is that healing can feel without time. In mo...

January 16 2023

As we talk about this month’s theme of “Timeless Healing,” it’s important to understand what healing is. For me, healing is about moving toward wholeness. In their book On Grief and Grieving, Elisa...