Grief and trauma can be challenging to handle alone. It is easy to become trapped in negative thought cycles and feel as if no one understands you. In life coaching, group support is available and can give you a sense of clarity and, most importantly, a space of comfort and empathy. In this article, we will explore how this can help you heal.
What are support groups?
First, we must understand what a support group is. They are groups assembled by therapists that bring together people experiencing a similar condition or situation—for example, chronic illnesses, addiction, grief, or mental health conditions. It provides people with an opportunity to open up and share their feelings and experiences, coping mechanisms and other information about the condition or treatments they are undergoing.
It fills a gap created between their medical treatment and their desire for emotional support. Even if you have excellent doctors and are surrounded by family and friends, they may not be able to understand the impact of the disease or treatment on your overall well-being and emotional state. However, by being in a group with a similar experience and dealing with similar pain, you will find empathy, comfort, and happiness.
How can they help your healing process?
They make you feel less isolated, lonely or judged.
When you are undergoing a particularly difficult situation, you can feel lonely. Even if the people around you provide a listening ear and a helping hand, you may think they do not truly understand you and that you are alone. You may even think you are being judged for your condition and feel isolated from the people you loved and held dear.
However, in a support group, you will be surrounded by people who know what you are going through, the nuances of the condition, the pain caused by it. So they are less likely to judge you, and you will feel less alone in their company.
You can talk honestly and openly about your feelings and experiences.
Sometimes you might think that others might not want to know about what you are going through. Maybe they might feel uncomfortable or cannot handle the details of your experience. However, those details and other information you hide are important, and you should express them freely.
Also, when you do openly communicate to your friends and family about what you are going through, you may feel that while they are initially receptive, they may not want to keep on conversing about it. When this happens, you might become inclined to bottle up your feelings in an effort to heal quickly; but this is counterproductive.
When you do not express what you feel, you will find it more difficult to make peace with your grief and situation. However, in support groups, we understand that each part and every detail of your experience is essential and sharing the pain through words can help you heal. So you do not have to hide your thoughts and emotions; you can speak it out, and we will listen.
Improve your skills so you can cope with challenges
While expressing yourself in an understanding environment can help you heal, it alone is not enough. Personal coaches will try to improve your skills so you can cope with the challenges in your future. Healing can be an unpredictable journey with highs and lows, and you need to be able to face them all.
Some of the skills they will try to improve include communication, empathy, problem-solving and assertiveness. They will do this by giving you tasks to complete before the next session, and if you follow through with them, you will be able to progress better in your healing process.
Support groups are more than just a group of people to speak to. They can help you make peace with your experience, understand yourself better and become stronger, so you can heal successfully. If you wish to join one, contact us at One Life Coaching, and we will help find you a suitable group. If you also want to have a one-on-one session, we have personal coaching available to help you.