heartache – From the Desk of Pennwell Gray

Love Detox 101 – For all those struggling to let go. It’s not easy.

Break-ups require a 12-step program, I’m convinced of that.

May I re-phrase?

Break-ups with those you truly loved from the soul. Not a casual dalliance or a superficial connection, whoever chooses such options. But a committed, vulnerable and willing connection with whom you’ve parted.

It’s damned awful. Right?! We all pretend we’re ok – and in reality, we are if we step back and take control of our emotions. We’re stronger than we think. But it is painful, uncomfortable and miserable – truth be told. Continue reading “Love Detox 101 – For all those struggling to let go. It’s not easy.”

The lonely hearts club.

Writing for a number of online publications, one in particular that scores pieces based on hearts, shares, and comments, I’d noticed that my articles on gratitude, self-development and life in general didn’t rate that high.

Thankfully, scoring has never mattered to me. I didn’t even know that was the case when I penned my first piece – until I won first place on the Ecosystem with an unexpected monetary payout, a wonderful surprise that absolutely felt terrific.

When you miss the one you love – even though it’s over.

Fiery love and torturous break-ups, tumultuous ups and downs, stops and starts. Lonely days and nights filled with nothing but endless heartache and longing. Angry periods filled with rage, hurt and venom.

These stories resonate with many, me included at one time. I sought out such articles and eagerly absorbed each word. I wrote such articles, my heart bleeding onto the screen with each keystroke, another tear falling from my eye.

Over time, the tears dried up and the acute heartbreak that once consumed me, became a dull ache that flared here and there. The severity of my symptoms would depend on the memory, the current state of mind and how volatile my mood. Many of these times could be analogized with a yo-yo, winding up tight, then slowly releasing. Continue reading “When you miss the one you love – even though it’s over.”

Heartache – my old friend.

I’m not sure there is anything as painful as loving someone who didn’t, or couldn’t, love you in the way you needed.

What’s even more painful is when that person did love you as you needed – then stopped.

How to heal from heartache.

How often do we find ourselves saying, my heart is heavy?

If you didn’t read it here, visit The Elephant Journal today.

A mental roadmap: From heartache to healing.

The mind is a fascinating set of faculties made up of sensation, imagination, will, memory and thought. Even more intriguing is our psyche, the totality of the human mind, the conscious and the unconscious. Both involve the three pound organ known as our brain, the most complex part of the human body that serves as the epicenter of our intelligence, interpreter of the senses, initiator of body movement and controller of behavior.

But this isn’t a scientific musing filled with anatomy and physiology. It is a simple reflection on heartache and the dynamics of our psyche – the ways we get stuck and how we can reclaim our sanity when we find ourselves lost in our minds. Continue reading “A mental roadmap: From heartache to healing.”