How to Deal with the Loss of a Pet? The passing of a pet can be a uniquely harrowing experience. Our pets rely on us and provide us with companionship and affection. Without words, they seem to understand us to our very cores, offering solace in times of need and their solidarity and presence when we succeed. Their unconditional love is a joy for many and a lifeline for some. In short, our pets are part of the family. We often love them as intensely and profoundly as we may a sibling, parent, or partner.
Losing a beloved pet can be an emotionally devastating and life-changing experience. Still, as a society, we do not recognize how profoundly painful pet loss can be and to what extent it impairs our emotional and physical health. A pet’s accidental death can also add shock to the already devastating mix of grief.
Why the Loss of a Pet Can be Traumatic
Humans first started keeping pets 30,000 years ago. However, we’ve shared this planet with animals since the dawn of our species – a soul connection was inevitable. Pets enter our lives and families for reasons – sometimes for themselves and others – for us.
Pets not only bond with us but can also form deeper connections. For example, it’s not rare to see a pet that’s tied to a family member on a soul level. Some people also feel as though pets are the embodiment of a higher power with a mission.
QHHT and Pet Loss
I once had a particularly touching and enlightening encounter with a couple who were dealing with pet loss trauma. During our QHHT session, they spoke of their struggles to conceive and how their beloved pet came into their lives at just the right time, helping them to fall pregnant. However, soon after joyously welcoming their newborn into the world, their dog passed away as though having completed his mission.
During another QHHT session, a couple spoke of their pet who had sacrificed his life to get their attention, prompting them to start opening up to spirituality.
Pets share the same souls as humans, however, they have simply chosen to live out their lives as pets, which makes our pain and suffering all the more understandable following their passing.
Grief Following the Death of a Pet
Unfortunately, there’s no manual on coping with loss and certainly no right or wrong way to face the stages of grief that often come from it. In addition, mourning is a unique experience for everyone, making it challenging to understand your feelings.
The most common symptoms of acute grief after the traumatic loss of a pet can last from one to three months, with symptoms of grief persisting for up to a full year (on average).
The 5 Stages of Grief
- Denial: Following the passing of a pet, some owners may refuse to accept their loss.
- Anger: During this stage, pet owners may begin asking, “Why my pet?” or “What did they do to deserve this?” Since there’s no satisfactory answer, they may become irritated and frustrated.
- Bargaining: A natural reaction to unbearable emotional strife, is to want to try anything to alleviate or minimize its pressure. Pet owners may plead to a higher power during this time or turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms.
- Depression: This is well-known as the longest and most difficult stage of grief.
- Acceptance: While grief does not always end with acceptance – it is the final stop on the cycle of grief.
Why it’s Essential to Actively Address Grief
Nobody deserves the mental and physical consequences of not facing grief. Neglecting to go through the stages of grief following the loss of a pet can lead to persistent and prolonged suffering that can have negative impacts of your life, mentally and physically. Pet Loss Syndrome is another form of grief that can also worsen if not addressed.
How Grief Shows up in Your Mind
If left untreated, grief can manifest as several mental health disorders, such as chronic depression and anxiety disorder.
How Grief Shows up in Your Body
A range of studies have revealed the powerful effects grief can have on the body. Grief increases inflammation, which can worsen health pre-existing health conditions while sparking new ones. It can also batter the immune system, leaving you depleted and vulnerable to infection.
Pet Loss Syndrome
The heartbreak of bereavement can be so intense that it increases blood pressure while increasing your chances of developing blood clots. In the aftermath of the traumatic loss of their pet, some pet owners also refer to feeling pain in their hearts. They’re not imagining it. The pain of bereavement can alter the heart muscle so much that it causes “broken heart syndrome,” a mild form of heart disease that produces the same symptoms as a heart attack.
How to Deal with the Loss of a Pet
Rituals
Not only does a grief ritual help you heal as you regain steady emotions, but it also gives you and other friends and family an opportunity to remember and reflect on your pet’s and mission life. A regular ritual of remembering and honoring their life is essential in a healthy grieving process.
Hypnotherapy and Grief
Hypnosis has long been used as a treatment for grief.
Clinical hypnotherapy can be a useful and effective intervention in prolonged grief and pet loss syndrome. Here are just a few reasons why:
- It can aid you in finding moments of peace where you can rest from your grief.
- It can minimize the unbearable intensity of your grief.
- It can give you time to look after yourself with compassion.
Using QHHT to Cope with the Loss of a Pet
Developed by Dolores Cannon, Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique is a unique yet fascinating journey of profound self-discovery. The basis is simple yet powerful: hypnosis is used to bypass the barrier and noise of the conscious mind, allowing the subconscious to be accessed by which its all-knowing and intuitive powers can be channeled. When in a trance, the subconscious can be asked several probing questions, of which the answers can be powerfully life-changing and enlightening.
So, when it comes to the confusion that stems from the grief of losing a pet, QHHT can be incredibly effective in finding answers. As well, during regression, the mind is calmed, not only allowing you temporary relief but also helping you to take on and work through a large share of grief at once subconsciously.
Energy healing is also effective as a method for coping with losing a pet. Energy blockages are the natural result of grief as the body and mind both take a traumatic hit. By allowing your energy to flow freely again, negative energy can be expelled while energy channels are cleansed, alleviating the strain on your mind and body.
Finally …
The aftermath of the death of your pet can be a confusing and upsetting time, especially in the case of traumatic pet loss. However, coping with losing a pet doesn’t have to be neverending, unbearable pain, or marred with hopelessness. We can honor the soul connection we share with our pets while taking solace in some coping mechanisms such as rituals, self-care, energy work and QHHT sessions.
