How Your Body Can Lead You Through Grief

  I remember every detail of that Saturday morning in 2016. It was June 18, and my husband, Bill, and I shared a beautiful snuggle before getting out of bed. I got ready for a ride with my cycling group as he prepared to participate in a sailing regatta. We kissed goodbye knowing we would reunite later in the day for dinner with his son and new daughter-in-law. The rest of the day, however, is a blur—it was the day my life forever changed. My husband did not make it to the regatta. He was found unresponsive on our bathroom floor, and at age 48, in a flash, I became a widow. But what came next surprised me. It’s clear from my fragmented memories of that day that I was in shock. I barely recall returning to my apartment or who was there to support me. But by the next afternoon, I was able to feel the intense pain and sadness of my devastating loss and begin to move through it. I knew I was safe—no matter what was ahead of me. This sensation was a new experience for me. In the past, crises had shut me down. I would push others away and use my eating disorder as a way to manage what felt unmanageable. This time, instead, I was surprised to observe myself allowing my body to fully experience the pain. I was in crisis, and, for the first time in my life, fully present with the experience. Safe Connection and Trauma At the time of my husband’s death, I was a student and a patient of somatic experiencing (SE), a body-based therapy modality developed by Peter Levine, PhD...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Grief and Loss Publishers Spirituality & Health death Somatic Experiencing Trauma Source Type: blogs