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April 2021
ERICSHOUSE
April Newsletter
"Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking of life."

-Anne Roiphe
Dear EricsHouse Community,

Welcome to April! A time when the flowers start to bloom and the sun shines brightly. Take this month as a time to reflect and take a chance to create a blooming of your own.
An Article from a Board Member-Judy Zimet, Legal Advisor
Animals & Grief
Part I

With 68 million U.S. households choosing to share their lives with an animal, it is no wonder that much has been written about animals and grief. In this three-part series, we will first explore how animals help us move through our grief. Next, we will learn about grief after the loss of our pet, and finally we will look at how animals grieve. First, let’s explore how animals, whether watching them in the wild, or snuggling with them on the couch, helps us during our grief.
 
Animals increase our happiness by providing a positive relationship. When we are grieving, animals are especially valuable because they offer companionship without expectation. Being around friends and family may be stressful during our grief journey, as uncomfortable questions and comments can be made, and expectations of behavior often causes anxiety. Having a cat in your lap or going for a trail ride is an interaction without questions and expectations. Animals allow us to be who we are, and feel what we feel, without judgment. As English novelist George Eliot said, “Animals are such agreeable friends. They ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”   

There is science behind animals and grief relief. Numerous studies have shown that our levels of Oxytocin, beta endorphins, and dopamine, chemicals that are essential to our feelings of well-being, rise dramatically when we interact with animals. That explains why animal-assisted therapy is immensely popular across the globe.
Studies have shown that dogs, and even the most aloof cats, can sense our sadness and adjust their behavior to our mood. A study published by the University of London found that dogs are more likely to approach a crying person than a talking person, and that they approach the crying person with submissive behavior. This seems to indicate that dogs offer us compassion in our grief.

There are many ways to experience the joys of animal companionship. Adopt a dog or cat. Watch birds on a nature walk. Take horseback riding lessons or go on a trail ride. Offer to walk shelter dogs. Find a farm sanctuary or horse rescue that needs volunteers. Go to goat yoga or a cat café. The more animal experiences we bring into our lives, the more we can feel them uplifting our souls.




Articles
EricsHouse
WELCOMES
Jamie Silver
Jamie is a Clinically trained and Certified Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT
Tapping) Practitioner and Energy Healer helping clients feel enormous relief in every
session. Her clients take home the skills to give themselves relief when emotions
feel overwhelming.

Jamie discovered EFT in 2012 just before her singer, songwriter and youngest son Ben
started showing signs of adolescent-onset schizophrenia. He was diagnosed at 20, and
ended his life at 22 in the summer of 2015. Jamie credits EFT Tapping with getting her
through this horribly painful time.

As a practitioner, Jamie helps her clients transform grief into gratitude, and
stress into serenity in each session. It’s amazing. Dr. Joe Dispenza, a chief
proponent of EFT says, “When you remove the emotion from a memory, you are
left with wisdom.”

Jamie has another passion as well. Because of her belief in the eternity of life Jamie
began writing Ben, and he writes her back through her own hand. Their correspondence
led to the publication of Jamie’s book “Our Forever Ben, One Mom's Letters to her Son-in-Spirit and his Poetic Replies."

Jamie is the founder of Ben’s Memorial Mile, an annual week-long festival held in
Downers Grove Illinois where Ben made his mark as a running star in High School.
Ben’s Mile has donated $100k for Suicide Prevention, Schizophrenia research and the
National Alliance of Mental Illness.

Jamie is fully accredited and insured through the Association for Comprehensive
Energy Psychology and a member in good standing of the international credentialing
body EFT International. She would love to help you feel better immediately in your very
first session.

Jamie moved to Phoenix recently to be closer to her son Dr. Aaron Silver, Chief
Resident in Internal Medicine at Banner Health University Medical Center. She also
serves as a Chaplain at Unity of Phoenix Spiritual Center.
CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR MORE ABOUT TAPPING
In addition to providing grief support after a loss and holistic support as part of our Integrative Grief Care model, we offer several alternative therapies to support emotional, physical, and spiritual healing. We work with individuals who have lost someone they love unexpectedly with a specialization in suicide and substance losses.