There are moments in life when we would give anything for one more minute. One more minute with a loved one we’ve lost. One more minute in a season we weren’t ready to leave. One more minute before change shifts everything we know.
But sometimes, the kind of “one more minute” we need is just the ability to get through one more minute alive. One more minute of breathing through the ache. One more minute of finding our footing.
Kristen Brust’s One More Minute podcast episode speaks to the power of that exact kind of survival, how you can get through a really hard time by simply living one more minute at a time, and how those minutes slowly add up to a life you didn’t know was possible.
I had to do that in July of last year. Some days, I still feel like I’m living in those “one more minute.” Just getting by one at a time. Wishing I had just one more with my grandma.
It’s a feeling so many of us know intimately. But what if, instead of getting stuck in the longing, we learned to honor those feelings while still living fully in the now?
Hypnotherapy has helped me do exactly that. It’s allowed me to process grief, reconnect with my grandma in ways I never expected, and find peace in the minutes I’m living now, even when they’re really hard.
The Pain of Wanting More Time
My understanding of “one more minute” changed the moment she passed. I would give anything to have one more minute by her side; to tell her I love her, to tell her how much she meant to me. Even typing this, I’m tearing up because I miss her more than I can stand most days. I wish she didn’t have to be alone when it happened. I wish I could have been her comfort. That ache, the longing to rewrite those final moments, is something I carry with me, and something hypnotherapy has helped me begin to soften, even if it will never fully go away.
In the earliest days after she passed, I didn’t want to wake up. I just wanted to be with her. I wasn’t afraid of dying, in fact, I almost looked forward to it, because being here without her felt unbearable. I lived one breath, one minute at a time. Kristen’s words helped pull me through. “Just one more minute, then another, then another…”
Hypnotherapy helped me move through that place too. It helped me reconnect with her in ways I never expected, and slowly, those “one more minute” became more than just survival, they became moments of healing.
Now, when I feel unsafe or uncertain, I still talk to her. I ask her to protect me, to keep me safe. And if it ever is my time, I ask her to take me peacefully, before something terrifying happens. Without fear, just quick and quiet. That’s the trust hypnotherapy helped me rebuild, not just in the world around me, but in the invisible love that still surrounds me.
She may be gone physically, but she’s still with me in more ways than one.
Letting Go Doesn’t Mean Forgetting
- We fear that if we let go, we’ll lose the connection or meaning of what we’re holding onto.
- But letting go isn’t about erasing, it’s about making space to carry love forward in a way that doesn’t weigh us down.
- Hypnotherapy can help us rewrite the way we hold memories, turning grief into gratitude and presence into peace.
I turned to hypnotherapy to help me work through the grief and guilt of not being there when she passed. And every time I’ve gone into session, she’s shown up. She’s delivered messages that brought me peace, especially the last one, when she told me she didn’t want to go, she wasn’t ready. But it was her time. That she didn’t choose to leave me. That brought comfort I didn’t know I needed. In many ways, I feel like I’ve gotten more time with her through hypnotherapy. She’s still with me in the quiet moments, in the thin places. I still talk to her… sometimes out loud, sometimes just in my heart.
My grandma represented calmness and security for me. She was one of the only people I always felt proud to belong to. She had my back no matter what. And now, even in grief, I know she still does.
Learning to Sit in the In-Between
- The hardest place to be is in transition – between what was and what’s next.
- Hypnotherapy helps us embrace uncertainty without fear, teaching the subconscious to feel safe in change.
- A simple grounding exercise: When you feel the ache of “one more minute,” pause and name one thing you can appreciate in this moment.
Living Fully, Right Now
- Instead of waiting for loss to remind us to cherish what we have, we can choose to be present now.
- Hypnotherapy helps train the mind to recognize beauty in the ordinary, making every moment feel more alive.
- A daily affirmation: “I honor the past, embrace the present, and trust the future.”
We can’t always get one more minute… but we can make the most of the minutes we have. Hypnotherapy has helped me navigate loss, presence, and healing, so I am learning to live each moment with open hands and an open heart.
A Personal Note to Anyone Who’s Grieving
Grief shows up in strange places sometimes. For me, it was recently while talking to a friend who reminded me of something my grandpa always said: “Do it while you’re young—while you still can.” He and my grandma both just wanted me to be happy. They always believed in me, and I try to live in a way they’d be proud of.
But grief also shows up in the quiet moments, when I’m cooking in her kitchen and instinctively reach for my phone to ask her a question, like how long to boil eggs. Or when winter came and went without her potato soup. It’s not just the recipe I miss; it’s the way she made everything feel special.
Sometimes it shows up in deeper places, like when I think about growing my family through adoption. I ache knowing that if I do, my child won’t get to know her. They won’t get to feel her love, the way my foster sons did. She was everything to me, and I know her presence shaped how much love I have to give.
I’ve found so much comfort through hypnotherapy, more than I ever expected. In my very first session, my grandma came to me. She hugged me. Told me she wasn’t mad, that she loved me. That moment changed everything. I’ve felt her warmth during sessions, and each time, I walk away more grounded, more at peace, and more myself.
Grief will always be a part of me, but it’s not ALL of me. Hypnotherapy has helped me feel like I’m still connected to her, and that she’s still cheering me on.
If you’re in the thick of it, I want you to know you’re not alone. There are ways to feel better that don’t involve numbing out or pushing your feelings down. Even if you have unfinished things with your loved one or conversations that never happened or pain that feels unresolved… hypnotherapy can help.
Did you know that the owner of Sacramento Hypnotherapy Wellness Center, Maude Schellhous, also teaches hypnotherapy? Maude is the founder of The California School of Hypnotherapy. If someone you know, could benefit from working with a student and you would like to know more, please call (916) 549-5109 or use the contact us form.
