Pet bereavement

Have you ever experienced the heartbreak of losing a pet? Are you already feeling anxious because your elderly pet is nearing its life end? Perhaps your pet is unwell? Well, this is often one of the most traumatic and upsetting events in a pets owners life.

Pets quickly become fully fledged members of the family and if you’re lucky enough to work from home then you may well find you spend more time with your pet than you do your human family members, the bond is unique.

Animals have a great ability to draw us in with their quirky personality traits and not all animals behave the same, they are in fact as individual as humans.

Over the years you will form a bond with your pet that perhaps others may not understand. It’s often said that losing a pet is equal to losing a family member, some may choose to disagree but one thing we can agree on is that it causes emotional distress and anxiety.

People who lose a pet may well seek some form of counselling or pet bereavement therapy as the grief becomes difficult to manage and could be affecting a persons ability to carry out everyday tasks,

Everybody that loses a beloved pet reacts differently and grief affects everyone differently.

If you feel you cannot cope alone there is help available and seeking advice from a qualified pet bereavement therapist may be the way forward. Quite often those trained in that particular field are pet owners and may well have experienced pet bereavement themselves.

Grief takes time to recover from don’t be too hard on yourself try and focus on the memories you have of your pet and visualise them in your mind.

Hypnosis can be a way of learning to turn negative thoughts into positives and help you to feel calm and relaxed. A good therapist will send over a recording for you to listen to between face-to-face sessions, this is known as self-hypnosis.

Losing a pet that has given you some of the best times and memories and then one of the worst times is tough but you are not alone. Perhaps find a group on social media where you can chat to others who have experienced the same.

Don’t bottle your feelings up ensure you try and motivate yourself to keep life running as near to normal as possible.

Perhaps when the time is right you may even think about getting another pet, not to replace the one you lost but to give you the happiness owning a pet gives.

Whatever you choose to do will be right for you but remember a good therapist is worth approaching it can really help reset your mind and get you back on your feet.

Owning a pet is amazing and brings so many happy memories, losing them can be heartbreaking but don’t let it deter you from getting another and making new memories with a new best friend! 

Help is there if you need it and things will improve!