Death and Seperations

Drastic Life Events – When Life Gets Out of Balance

Some expe­ri­en­ces lea­ve deep scars on our inner sel­ves. The loss of a loved one, a sepa­ra­ti­on after many years, the loss of a job, a serious ill­ness, or trau­ma­tic events such as acci­dents or expe­ri­en­ces of vio­lence – all of the­se can deep­ly shake our lives and push us to our psy­cho­lo­gi­cal limits.

Such expe­ri­en­ces are a part of life. But some­ti­mes our own coping mecha­nisms are not enough to deal with the pain, emp­tin­ess, or exces­si­ve demands. In my prac­ti­ce, I accom­pa­ny peo­p­le through pre­cis­e­ly such pha­ses – with a lis­tening ear, sound the­ra­peu­tic methods, and a safe space for processing.

The possible consequences of dramatic experiences

Depen­ding on the indi­vi­dual’s life sto­ry, psy­cho­lo­gi­cal sta­te, and social envi­ron­ment, reac­tions to dra­ma­tic events can vary great­ly. Typi­cal sym­ptoms are:

• Per­sis­tent sad­ness or emo­tio­nal numbness
• Sleep dis­tur­ban­ces, loss of appe­ti­te, phy­si­cal restlessness
• With­dra­wal from social life
• Fee­lings of guilt, obses­si­ve rumi­na­ti­on, or anxie­ty about the future
• Con­cen­tra­ti­on pro­blems or Memo­ry lapses
• Signs of depres­si­on or anxie­ty disorder
• Post-trau­ma­tic stress sym­ptoms (e.g., flash­backs, hyperarousal)
• Fee­lings of meanin­g­less­ness or wea­ri­ne­ss of life

The­se sym­ptoms are not “wrong” – they are natu­ral reac­tions to over­whelm, loss, and emo­tio­nal pain. But if they per­sist for weeks or months or wor­sen, pro­fes­sio­nal sup­port can help you find your way back to life.

How psychotherapeutic support can help

In my psy­cho­the­ra­py prac­ti­ce, which is regu­la­ted by the Ger­man Alter­na­ti­ve Medi­ci­ne Prac­ti­tio­ners Act (Heil­prak­ti­ker­ge­setz), I work with peo­p­le who:

• want to pro­cess the loss of a rela­ti­ve or fri­end (grief counseling)
• after a Want to build new sta­bi­li­ty and self-esteem after a separation
• Suf­fer under the bur­den of past expe­ri­en­ces and want to heal old emo­tio­nal wounds
• Want to learn to deal with fears, fee­lings of guilt, or para­ly­zing emptiness
• Look for ori­en­ta­ti­on and new per­spec­ti­ves on life

Possible therapeutic approaches

The choice of the appro­pria­te method always depends on your per­so­nal situa­ti­on, your per­so­na­li­ty, and your goals. In psy­cho­the­ra­peu­tic sup­port for life-chan­ging expe­ri­en­ces, I work with, among others:

• Talk the­ra­py accor­ding to Rogers: You are the focus – with all your fee­lings and needs. In a safe, respectful space, heal­ing occurs through empa­the­tic understanding.
• EMDR (Eye Move­ment Desen­si­tiza­ti­on and Repro­ces­sing): Par­ti­cu­lar­ly hel­pful for trau­ma­tic memo­ries, flash­backs, or emo­tio­nal blockages.
• Resour­ce-ori­en­ted con­ver­sa­ti­ons & Ima­gi­na­ti­on exer­ci­s­es: Pro­mo­ting inner strength, buil­ding resi­li­ence, acti­vat­ing self-heal­ing powers.
• Working with inner parts (e.g., after ego sta­te the­ra­py): Under­stan­ding and inte­gra­ting inju­red, child­li­ke, or over­whel­med per­so­na­li­ty parts.
• Mindful­ness and body awa­re­ness: Hel­pHelp with arri­ving in the here and now, regu­la­ting stress and anxiety.
• Grief and cri­sis sup­port: Not “let­ting go,” but a heal­ing con­ti­nua­tion of life with the expe­ri­ence of loss.

Where psychotherapeutic support reaches its limits

Despi­te all the pos­si­bi­li­ties, the­re are situa­tions in which psy­cho­the­ra­peu­tic sup­port by a natur­opa­thic prac­ti­tio­ner for psy­cho­the­ra­py alo­ne is not suf­fi­ci­ent. The­se include, for exam­p­le, E.g.:

• Acu­te sui­ci­da­li­ty or seve­re self-harm
• Seve­re men­tal ill­nesses such as psy­cho­sis or bipo­lar disorder
• Requi­red medi­ca­ti­on tre­at­ment for seve­re depression
• Signi­fi­cant sub­s­tance abu­se with phy­si­cal with­dra­wal symptoms

In such cases, col­la­bo­ra­ti­on with spe­cia­lists, psych­ia­trists, or cli­nics is useful and some­ti­mes even neces­sa­ry. I would be hap­py to advi­se you on appro­pria­te fur­ther steps – calm­ly and dis­creet­ly, of course.

The first step is often the har­dest – but it’s worth it.

Per­haps you feel emp­ty, exhaus­ted, or cut off from life. Per­haps you expe­ri­ence sad­ness, anger, or fear that you don’t under­stand. Or may­be you just want to feel your feet back on the ground.

You don’t have to walk this path alo­ne. Tog­e­ther we’ll find out what you need now – and what can help you on your way back to life.

Plea­se feel free to sche­du­le a non-bin­ding initi­al con­sul­ta­ti­on. I look for­ward to accom­pany­ing you on this journey.