What Grief Massage Therapists Need to Know About: Loss Reminders
Release Date: 08/13/2024
Interview: Grief Bodyworker Krystal Marie Capizzo
Grief Massage Mindset
Do you know Krystal Marie Capizzo? She is an inspiring licensed massage therapist from Michigan who experienced multiple losses over the past few years, found solace and understanding through the Grief Massage education she received from Jennica Klemann, and went on to create her own soulful Grief Bodywork modality. In this interview, Krystal shares about her own grief journey, what she learned in Jennica's class that helped her most, how the concept of disenfranchised grief applies to her work, and why she is so passionate and commited to serving grieving clients in her community. She also...
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Why Grief Massage is Counter-Cultural & What Cultural Grief-Stress Is
Grief Massage Mindset
Did you know that our unique time and place impacts how stressful grieving can be? It's true. In the dominant North American, Western culture (especially in the US where Aimee lives), grievers can often feel misunderstood, isolated, and even shamed by societal expectations that: -they should grieve faster -that they should have a "positive" mindset about their loss -that they should get "back to normal" Aimee shares her least favorite statement that our society often burdens grievers with ("You need to let this go") and how it is an example of cultural grief-stress. She also shares some...
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What Grief Massage Therapists Need to Know About: Loss Reminders
Grief Massage Mindset
Did you know that grievers experiencing any type of loss, ranging from the death of a loved one to a job loss, often experience cascades of activating nervous system events (stressors) due to loss reminders? Loss reminders can range from smells that recall elements of the loss, visual cues such as seeing someone who resembles the one who died, sounds (hearing something that reminds them the loss occurred or music that brings up feelings about the loss), and even environmental cues such as going to the grocery store and seeing a loved one's favorite foods that no longer need to be purchased....
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What Grief Massage Therapists Need to Know About: Inherent Grief-Stress
Grief Massage Mindset
Did you know that some forms of grief-stress are actually natural, human, and intricately related to our ability to love and form attachments? It's true. Aimee calls this inherent grief-stress. In this episode, she shares her thoughts about this primal impact of grief and why Grief Massage is so important in offering care and comfort to humans who are navigating a significant loss. She also references recent brain research on grievers that has shown certain parts of the brain (such as the hippocampus) take a significant amount of time to re-wire and build new maps of reality after loss, which...
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What Is "Grief-Stress" & How Can Grief Massage Help?
Grief Massage Mindset
Did you know that change is stressful? Most humans have noticed that! What many of us have not yet realized though, is that the stress of change can relate to loss. After all, loss creates change. "Stress is the result of change" according to the authors of "The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook" (Martha Davis, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman and Matthew McKay) and in this episode Aimee talks about the term she coined has describe the impacts of loss on griever stress levels: "grief-stress". In this episode, Aimee also highlights how Brian Luke Seaward, author of "Managing Stress: Principles...
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What is "Assisted Relaxation" in a Grief Massage Setting?
Grief Massage Mindset
Did you know that you, as a Grief Massage practitioner can be a source of "Assisted Relaxation" for your grieving clients? You can. By creating a warm and welcoming haven...by sharing your nervous system state of calm and grounded presence...by welcoming grief with an open heart...by offering touch that soothes on a level deeper than words... You can be a respite and a sanctuary for grievers who desperately need a safe place to land, a compassionate corner of the world in which to collapse and "just be" with their grief. This episode is the third in a unique series in which Aimee goes...
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How to Talk About Grief Massage With Healthcare Professionals
Grief Massage Mindset
Did you know that you as a Grief Massage practitioner can be an advocate for grievers simply by talking about Grief Massage with healthcare professionals? It's true. That is because healthcare professionals such as counselors, physicians and nurse practitioners/nurses likely see many patients/clients who are being affected by loss. When you raise awareness of grief as a healthcare issue due to loss as a major stressor (which is how Aimee recommends you connect the dots between grief and massage therapy), you can plant seeds that may impact how healthcare professionals think about grief and its...
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Why Talking About Grief Massage Matters
Grief Massage Mindset
Did you know that simply talking about Grief Massage can change the world? It can. That is because every conversation you have about Grief Massage raises awareness of this important emerging modality. Every time you connect the dots between grief and massage therapy, you plant seeds for a future in which Grief Massage is a standard form of care. This episode is the first in a unique series in which Aimee goes through her 40 hour "The Joy of Grief Massage" online course as a student and reflects on each section. This episode was recorded in response to section 1 of the 30 total sections in...
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How The Body Meets Grief Part 1
Grief Massage Mindset
Does grief actually affect the physical body? What are grievers experiencing when they share that their loss is impacting them physically? How can massage therapists be of the highest service to grievers seeking massage therapy? In this episode, Aimee explores common physical responses to grief, shares several related personal experiences as both a hospice grief counseling intern and Grief Massage therapist, and offers insight how massage therapists can shift their mindset around service to grieving clients. TW: AImee discusses a personal suicide loss in this episode. Contact if you are...
info_outlineDid you know that grievers experiencing any type of loss, ranging from the death of a loved one to a job loss, often experience cascades of activating nervous system events (stressors) due to loss reminders?
Loss reminders can range from smells that recall elements of the loss, visual cues such as seeing someone who resembles the one who died, sounds (hearing something that reminds them the loss occurred or music that brings up feelings about the loss), and even environmental cues such as going to the grocery store and seeing a loved one's favorite foods that no longer need to be purchased.
Loss reminders are common after a recent loss but can also occur years down the road. Aimee shares some personal loss reminders that occurred recently for her, 15 years after the death of her mother, as she was going through some of her mother's personal belongings recently. She shares how it impacted her body and nervous system (and how she used gentle touch to cope and ground).
This episode is the sixth in a unique series in which Aimee goes through her 40 hour "The Joy of Grief Massage" online course as a student and reflects on each section.
This episode was recorded in response to section 6 of the 30 total sections in Class 1: Grief, the Body and the Nervous System. You will hear a short 1 minute snippet of Section 6 (listening to the snippets featured in these episodes is not a substitute for taking the class).
Aimee also shares how a snowglobe can be a beautiful and helpful metaphor for the way that loss reminders "shake up" a griever's nervous system.
Listen along and please join Aimee for all of the upcoming 30 episodes featuring her responses to the learning sections of Class 1. Once we have gone through all sections of Class 1, we will also be recording episodes based on Classes 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Learn more about our fully recorded, self-paced 40 hour Grief Massage training course on our school website: https://the-institute-for-grief-massage-inc.thinkific.com/courses/class-1-grief-the-body-the-nervous-system-article-series
Follow our Grief Massage work at our website: www.griefmassage.org
Stay in touch on Instagram: @theinstituteforgriefmassage
Find us on Facebook: @theinstituteforgriefmassage
TW: AImee discusses a personal suicide loss in this episode. Contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if you are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.