HYPNOSIS FOR BEREAVEMENT

    If you have recently lost someone you love, you are at increased risk for heart damage.  Thomas Buckley, PhD, and senior lecturer at the University of Sydney Nursing School, in Australia, has reported on a 2010 study on bereavement.  The researchers tracked the heart health of 78 adults who within the previous two months had lost a child or spouse.  This was compared to the heart health of adults who had not been recently bereaved.   They found that during the six-month period after the loss, the bereaved had nearly twice as many rapid-heartbeat episodes as those who had not had such a loss, increasing the heart attack risk.

     The researchers theorized that bereavement and mourning is a highly stressful time for sufferers and that the stress may damage the heart.  It is believed the changes usually settle down after six months.

    So what can you do if you have suffered a recent loss?  Buckley suggests that those who are recently bereaved have a physical which includes a heart checkup within the first month after the loss.  In addition, working with a therapist or hypnotherapist to deal with the loss and to build stress coping skills can be of great value.  Even in times of loss, hypnosis can help you to BE WELL.