Coping with Grief

I recently had the chance to read and review the book  Balancing the Beast  by Helena Smole of Slovenia.


Below is the review I posted on Amazon and immediately below that is a response by the author.

"This is a learn-by-example book. Helena takes us on the journey of her battle to overcome her bout of schizoaffective disorder – bipolar or manic depressive type. She introduces us to a wholistic approach to coping that uses both western medicine and alternative healing methods.

One thing that stuck me as I read her account was the similarity of her ordeal with the stages of grief spelled out by Evelyn Kubler-Ross. I finally realized that she was experiencing grief, for the loss of her previous identity.

This brought home the universality of her experience. Her methods will work for many people who have suffered a loss, through cancer, accidental limb loss, or psychosis.

I recommend this book for everyone. We will all face a loss someday. Here is a road map to guide us through the dark periods that we will all experience."



Dear Don Vallere!

Thank you so much for your review on Amazon.com! It is amazing that you found a parallel to the stages of grief spelled out by Evelyn Kubler-Ross. I feel deeply honored to be compared to this remarkable woman.

I am also glad that you find my book useful for non-mental-patient-people, for this is one of the ways to fight stigma - the message that we are all together in the same boat.

Your conclusion that I lost a troubled identity is so true! That is precisely why personal change is so hard - it hurts to loose our habits and thinking patterns, even if they are self-destructive.

Thank you from the heart!

Best regards from Europe,

Helena Smole

Peer-to-Peer in Mental Health
Author of the book Balancing the Beast
http://www.helenasmole.com/balancing-the-beast