This is Jim. He chose to heal after losing his mother when he was only a teenager, and his father prematurely as well. You can imagine he went through periods of time that were difficult and hard to understand.

My name is Barbara J Hopkinson of A Butterfly’s Journey To a New Normal. We help individuals and families struggling with grief to find a new normal after experiencing early or traumatic loss.

The fact that you are experiencing something that you never thought would happen is exactly why it is normal to feel like Jim was feeling and this is why we suggest photos as a way to help you heal.

There are multiple ways photos or photography can help with grief. While it may be difficult at first to look at photos of your loved ones, it is healing because it makes you feel closer to them. In addition, taking photos of things such as nature, babies and animals can be very healing and help reduce stress. Projects like our Choose-To-Heal Photo shoots are very cathartic. Check out our photo gallery on AButterflysJourney.com

We suggest that you try to think of ways to incorporate photos into your memorials, and photography into your everyday life, if you like it.

Some suggestions on the use of photography to heal:

• Gather photos of your loved ones in a single place, so that you knowwhere they are — one for printed and framed, and one for digital images
• Consider taking a convenient fun camera with you, for when you seespecial places or moments that you want to remember.
• Set up a special place in your home and/or office to display some photosof your loved one with you and family, if you are comfortable with that.
• Possibly establish an online place where you, friends and family canshare and enjoy photos, videos and stories of your loved love. You might use photo sharing software, Facebook or other social media sites.Photography can be a powerful tool. It was for Jim as he chose to heal.If you found this video to be helpful them share it and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you have any questions please comment below. Once again, I am Barbara J Hopkinson of A Butterfly’s Journey To a New Normal. We help individuals and families struggling with grief after traumatic loss to find hope and a new normal.