Kati Morton

Grieving a pet | I notice when I'm doing poorly | Therapy Breaks | Trauma Reactions

Added 2017-10-09 16:42:33 +0000 UTC

1. Is it normal to grieve the loss of a pet more than a human loss? My dog passed away a few weeks ago & I am struggling so much to move on. I feel so ashamed that it's hit me so hard, but she was my baby (literally, as my husband & I can't have kids), my life, and in my darkest days my reason for getting up. It sounds silly, but I feel like without her I've lost my identity!

2. My question would be this... I've had some really low points in my life where I have shut down and no one had a clue. Definitely more true depression I guess. I've been seeing my counselor for 6 months or so and I've noticed lately I can tell when I am slipping and going down that not so good path. I am wondering, is the fact that I can notice this and tell my counselor a good thing? Is it a sign of things actually improving overall or should I take these feelings just as seriously as before? Does that make sense? If not let me know and I can try to explain differently. I'd like to believe it's a good thing, but also don't want to assume I'm fine either, you know?

3. I am taking a temporary break from therapy because I am slowly feeling less motivated and trauma work is not easy (actually very scary and I kind of want to avoid forever) What's your advice on how long therapy breaks should be and considerations when returning back?

4. I can't really recall the key parts of one of the traumas but I get all the reactions to it. How do we do trauma therapy if we have fragmented memories of the event?

My video with Alexa on Somatic Experiencing: https://youtu.be/aDYRkLAAH2U