Dear Kiantha: Emotional weight can feel heavy on the body

Dear Kiantha,

I have been feeling heavy in my body. I am a person that does a very good job at maintaining my weight and have managed to stay at 157 pounds for over 11 years. I check my weight daily. I generally eat healthy and exercise multiple times each week. Although I can’t explain the heaviness, the only thing I can attributed it to is sadness. A friend recently committed suicide and my days are consumed thinking of what I could have done for him.

Dear Friend,

First and foremost, my heart is with you. That feeling of heaviness is one which I have felt more than once in my life and for me, it was directly related to depression. I encourage you to seek professional help, as therapists are trained to effectively support us through these tough moments in our lives. If you are a person of faith, moments like these also draw us closer to our faith if we let them.

Grief and sadness literally feel like pounds of weight on our bodies. Think about it, we feel it on our shoulders, as tension in our backs and more than anything as a weight on our minds. Be it from grieving the loss of a loved one, a life hardship or even disappointment. We are beings who are affected physically by what happens emotionally. Why? Because we are human having very human experiences.

The good news is that the weight of grief is manageable, just as our physical weight can be managed. You have proven that by creating a regimen that has worked for you for the past 11 years. It will require you to check your mental health daily, commit to positive thinking and look for ways to feed your spirit multiple times each week. A simple prescription, but one that requires dedication and commitment.

It is OK to think of your friend and what you could have done for him. It is also OK to think about what you did for him. The laughter shared, conversations held, outings and the moments of joy you shared together. He is with you and always will be.

Soul to Soul,

Kiantha