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What can I expect to feel?
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What can I expect to feel? Different people experience the following emotions in different ways. Guilt may occur if you feel responsible for your pet's loss or death - the "if only I had been more careful" syndrome. It is pointless to burden yourself with guilt for the accident or illness that caused a pets loss or death especially as it only makes it harder to resolve your grief. Denial makes it difficult to accept your pet is really gone. It's hard to imagine your pet won't greet you when you come home or doesn't need its evening meal. Some pet owners can carry this to extremes and fear their pet is still alive and suffering somewhere. Others find it hard to get a new pet for fear of being disloyal to the old. Anger might be directed at the illness that killed your pet, the driver of a speeding car, the veterinarians who "failed" to save its life, the person who left the gate open. Sometimes it is justified, but when carried to extremes, it detracts you from the important task of resolving your grief. Depression is a natural consequence of grief, but can leave you powerless to cope with your feelings. Extreme depression robs you of motivation and energy, causing you to dwell upon your sorrow. It is vital to get experienced help if these feelings persist. To make an appointment call Kathy at (09) 575 4000 |
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How can I cope? How do I tell the children? Am I crazy to feel this way? How can I treasure my memories? |