Mourning for a Pet

(This blog was originally posted on February 28, 2017)

Morse (1988-2000)

Pets have an important place in our heart and our lives. They keep our secrets. They provide comfort when we are sad or frustrated, and listen to our dreams and plans without judgment or prejudice. They are partners in pranks or hijinks. They “babysit” our kids and provide comfort when we don’t feel well. They teach us about responsibility, loyalty and unconditional positive regard. They are often considered part of the family, a four-legged “kid” or sibling. And, eventually but way too soon, they teach us about grief and loss.

It is natural to mourn when a pet or animal companion dies. In addition to the sorrow of losing such an important emotional bond, we also lose a self-identified role as the guardian or pet-parent. During its lifetime we provided food, water and shelter. We are willing to spend hours canvassing the neighborhood at any time of day or night and in any weather looking for our lost dog, cat, horse, etc. We decide where we will live or are willing to move depending on the pets-clause in the lease. We invest money (sometimes a lot of it) in its veterinary care and medical/liability insurance. We learn how to administer oral medications and even do insulin injections if this becomes necessary. Ultimately we often have to make that incredibly difficult decision to end our beloved animal’s suffering by ending its life.

As a fellow animal lover, I know how hard the death of a beloved pet can be. I am here to help you work through your grief and the related changes in your life that are going on right now. As a certified hypnotherapist, I offer hypnosis and/or therapeutic guided-imagery techniques that can provide the gentle, emotional healing you need right now. All of my sessions are private and confidential, and I can work with you in my office in Santa Clarita or via Skype.

To set up an appointment, please call me at (661) 433-9430 or send e-mail to calminsensehypnosis@yahoo.com.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2018

Let It All Out

(This blog was originally posted on February 27, 2017)

In her song titled “I Just Wanna Cry,” Kristine Wriding describes a feeling we have probably all experienced at one time or another: the desire to just get in bed, crawl under the covers and have a good cry. I have no problem with that. In fact, from time to time it is very good to do just that.

As I explained in my blog titled Body Syndromes, pent-up emotions are transferred to another part of the body to be manifested later as a physical symptom when we do not express our emotions. However, if when we give ourselves permission to cry when we are sad or shout/yell when we are angry, we can release those negative emotions and prevent carrying all that negative energy around.

Having said that, it is also important to let go of your conscious and subconscious attachment to whatever or whoever triggered that emotional release. If you continue to focus and dwell on a source of stress/anxiety you will only continue to experience the emotional/physiological discomfort. Rather than releasing this negativity, re-visiting the negative memory only strengthens the negative association. As John C. Maxwell observed, “A victim mind-set causes people to focus on what they cannot do instead of what they can do. It is a recipe for continued failure.”

Therefore, once you have expressed your feelings, give yourself permission to truly release any attachment to that negativity so you can continue to move forward in your life.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2018

More Thoughts of the Day

Photo by Sara Fogan

     Every now and then I like (and need) to take a few moments and remind myself about what is really important to me, in my life. If you follow me on my Calminsense Hypnotherapy Facebook page you may have seen some of these quotes before on this page, or will in the future. Many of these Quotes of the Day are beautiful examples and illustrations of the work I do as a hypnotherapist, so I will probably draw on them in future essays.

• “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

• “A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.” – Arnold H. Glasgow

• “The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.” – Richard Bach

• “You have to be brave with your life so others can be brave with theirs.” – Lolly Daskal

• “A pessimist is someone who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks.” – Oscar Wilde

• “Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable.” – L. Frank Baum

• “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” – Bruce Lee

• “To have a child is to decide forever to let your heart go walking around outside your body.” – E. Stone

• “The opposite of love is not hate; it's indifference.” – Elie Wiesel

• “Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.” – Booker T. Washington

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2018