Working in hospice, United Methodist minister Michael Wuehler has helped with the grieving side of families in their spirituality, those coping with that end of life. Michael joins Suzanne to talk about spiritual wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Michael says, "Grieving takes the rest of our lives. Sometimes people ask, 'When will I be over it?' You won't. If you've spent your life loving somebody, and they pass away, it doesn't just stop. You gave your heart and soul to that person. Grief is that feeling that rushes in when love dies. It is a complex feeling. We have to know that grief is there for a reason, and we need deal with it openly and specifically as possible. Every quarter, I would offer a five session grief seminar for the families in different areas that we serve. And the number one focus is find someone to talk to. Grief is not something to be done alone. Grief or the bereavement process is dealing with your feelings, your emotions, your dreams that are lost, whatever with some other person or people in an open, honest and safe atmosphere."

He adds, "For years, I did grief support for people that have gone through divorce and it's the same type of grieving except the person doesn't die. The person that you went through a divorce with may still be in the same community, may be sharing children together. But the grief is very similar and much the same. We specialize in working with Alzheimer's patients.

"There are over 110 different types of Alzheimer's, but the reactions tend to be much the same. The loved one starts picking up the memories of the person with Alzheimer's. And then there comes a parallel point when the person with Alzheimer's has lost more memory and the person that doesn't have it, is surpassing them. And our memory loss tends to be from the newest to the oldest. I have had patients that couldn't keep a sentence, but we could sing hymns together, right? Because they were still there in the back of their heads."

Learn more about:
* Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Calling-Listening-God-Within/dp/1489733477
* Michael Wuehler: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08W9F8HZD/about
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Hear more:
* Podcasts with Michael Wuehler at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michael-wuehler/
* Michael Wuehler’s Hearing Spirit Calling podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hearing-spirit-calling/id1663406008
* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

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