In 2019 when our 31-year-old son Chris died unexpectedly, I did what I always do when I have experienced loss (health losses, job losses, etc) —

I worried about others, organized the chaos, and started working on a plan to “get through it.”

My “protective brain” took over and I added a layer of armor to my broken heart.

• I stuffed down my emotions
• Isolated myself from calls, texts and visits
• Wasn’t willing to accept help from others
• Disconnected my head and heart (I just couldn’t take it!)
• And went into autopilot, keeping myself too busy to really feel and grieve. I kept this up for 18 months, until my life was brought to a screeching halt!

My body and brain were exhausted. I had a hard time functioning. I couldn’t sleep. I had terrible mood swings, was often confused, suffered memory loss and struggled to make decisions.

I had physically and emotionally worn myself out, and I couldn’t keep going.

Then the overwhelming pain really hit!

And my grief felt like I had run into a brick wall… at 100 miles per hour!

In addition to my previously diagnosed Hashimoto’s disease, I was also diagnosed with MS and at the same time knew I needed help with my grief in order to properly deal with my failing health.