Requested A Quote For Acylic To Finish Making The Vent Hood For My Laser Engraver
[ Thursday May 4th 2023 at 12:20 am ]
Tonight was the final session of the grief support group. Although there is a single reunion session scheduled for mid June that is casual and is social in nature.
The focus on the main exercise was reinforcing the skills were taught and reflecting on their application to my life. My answers this evening are very different from when I attended this group in the fall group. Looking back at what I wrote I can tell I was still very much missing my aunt when the group ended the first time. It has been a good use of time and energy doing this again.
During the fall group I wanted to make myself a set of good notes I could refer back to. When the various group members talked about strategies they were using to cope with their grief I started making a list. At an appropriate moment I shared this list with the group tonight. The focus of this evening was moving forward. I knew this would be relevant. It was very well received. In fact I've used this with others I've casually met through playing games. I tend to think dying and death is going to affect everyone at some point. It was worth while doing this.
The final exercise was special. I received two pieces of special paper in the fall with a cryptic letter stating they were for week #7 (tonight) and not to get these wet. These pieces of paper dissolve when exposed to water. They are a chance to write a few sentences to the person who died and then put them into warm. The idea is either a thank you or something you wished you could have said. It is symbolic. My statements were "thank you" based.
During the group starting in November we were provided with real (wax based) candles and flash paper for this particular exercise. The candles were to be lit at the start of each group as a way of acknowledging the death. I objectively spoke and was listened to with my concerns over fire. The layout for my computer is different based on my physical disability. I am really not comfortable using fire. Instead I used an LED candle. This was adopted in this group. They changed from flash paper to water based dissolving paper. On account of it being new I showed the group leaders mine dissolving so they would know how to describe it in the future.
I am much more at peace over the group finishing tonight. I had a hard time with it in the fall. It had felt too fast the entire time. I've picked up a lot that I didn't hear the first time through because of the pain in my legs. It was also helpful that one of the volunteer leaders was the same as in the fall group. When talking to me his questions were more personalized and helpful. Several years ago I watched a series about a group of patients undergoing very intense treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder. The therapists talked about the treatment (known as "exposure and response prevention") and why it works. At the time I was going through difficulties with my knees. It was nice seeing someone else enduring their own medical treatment. I knew from watching this to answer honestly, drop my guard and be very honest when going through this again. By applying the principals of the OCD treatment I knew I'd get a lot out of doing the group tonight. This indeed is how it worked. The questions as the volunteer leader got to know me also really paid off.
I have been moderating my activities as to not risk setting an out of control pain cycle in motion. I didn't want to put all my emotional stamina into co-existing with pain I risked causing by working on some of my projects. For example there is some tidying and organizing I need to do. There are other things as well to do with my laser engraver setup. In this sense I've had a love - hat relationship with doing this group again. However it certainly was necessary. But now that is finished I will be able to focus my time and energy on other things. I am pretty good about scheduling my activities. The theme from week #5 was the initial steps of moving forward in life. During 3 days following this session I wrote out my "to do" list in an order that I thought made the most sense. This is what will now keep me busy during the next few months.
If you see this blog entry or found it after searching online when group therapy was suggested for you I would encourage you to participate. You don't have to share your life story during the first session. In a sense taking part in a group allows a level of safety where there will be times when you could be anonymous because of taking part in the group while simply listening to what others say. It isn't always easy. There is nothing wrong with self improvement and introspection.