Our Grief Support
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Grief Support Information
While dealing with grief is not easy, we believe the resources within this section of our website can help. Should you need additional support in grieving your loss, please call us. We will do everything we can to assist you.
Grieving with Purpose
- To accept the reality of the loss
- To process the pain of grief
- To adjust to a world without the deceased
- To find an enduring connection with the deceased in the midst of embarking on a new life
Six Signposts Along Your Journey
Before identifying these six signposts, Dr. Joseph reminds his readers of three very important things:
- You are not on your own
- Trauma is a normal and natural process
- Growth is a journey
He also provides a fundamental rule: don’t do anything you might not be able to handle now. “If you experience intense emotions, become physically upset, or begin to panic… stop.” He gently reminds readers that “having a sense of personal control over your recovery is important. There might be some things you do not feel ready to handle now, but in time, as you discover new strength and develop new coping skills, this will likely change.”
Signpost #1: Taking Stock
Are you physically well? Are you getting enough sleep and eating the right foods for optimum health? Have you received the kind of medical, legal, or psychological help you need? What is your current condition: physically, spiritually, and emotionally?
Signpost #2: Harvesting Hope
People traumatized by loss often feel hopeless. It’s hard to get up in the mourning and thinking about the future sparks pessimism and negativity. Find inspiration in the stories of personal growth written by others; set goals and practice hope as you set out to achieve them.
Signpost #3: Re-Authoring
Learn to tell your story differently. Take the victim mentality out of the story of loss you tell yourself and others and replace it with the word survivor to return to a sense of control over your life.
Signpost #4: Identifying Change
Keeping a daily diary can help you to see the small changes within more easily. You can also track those moments when you feel at your best and identify the conditions that brought them about. Identify and nurture the positive changes in your life throughout your bereavement journey.
Signpost #5: Valuing Change
Review these changes, identifying the ones that you’d like to continue to nurture. Personal transformation requires it. Growth is encouraged when we take time to think about what we have gained from loved ones and when we find a way to use what we have learned to give to others.
Signpost #6: Expressing Change in Action
Express your growth in new behaviors or, more simply, put your growth into action. When you think in terms of concrete actions, it helps make the growth experienced within your bereavement real to you.
Ending Denial and Finding Acceptance
This is where a funeral can be very important. Traditionally, the casketed body of the deceased is at the front of the room and guests are invited to step up to personally say their goodbyes. Part of stepping up means seeing with our own eyes that death has actually occurred and that actualizing is an essential part of coming to accept the death. Yet, the tradition of viewing has eroded over time with many families today choosing cremation and opting to hold a memorial service after the cremation has taken place. The focal point of the ceremony becomes the cremation urn, holding the cremated remains or ashes out-of-sight and making the reality of the death less evident and the road to acceptance less clearly marked.
Acceptance May Seem Out of Reach
For many, acceptance means agreeing to reality. Most of us, when we lose someone dear to us, simply don’t want to agree to it; we actually have an aversion to agreeing and accepting. So, let’s use a different word—try “adjustment”, or “integration”. Both words focus on the purposeful release of disbelief. Someone who has integrated the death of a loved one into their life has cleared the path to creating a new life; a pro-active life where a loved one’s memory is held dear, perhaps as a motivating force for change.
Whatever you call it, this essential part of mourning is what allows us to live fully again. It allows us to step out of the darkness of mere existence and back into the sunshine where life is sweet again. Of course, it’s a very different life than the one you had before your loved one died.
Sources:
- Freud, Sigmund. On the History of the Psycho-Analytic Movement Papers on Metaphyschology and Other Works.
- Worden, James, Grief Counseling & Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner, 4th Edition, 2009.
- Fleming, Stephen. The Changing Face of Grief: From ‘Going On to ‘On-Going”
- Joseph, Stephen. What Doesn’t Kill Us: the New Psychology of Posttraumatic Growth
- American Cancer Society, “Coping with the Loss of a Loved One”, 2012
Our experience
Our experience has taught us that when losing a loved one, those left behind feel lost and alone. Many do not know where to turn to or how to cope. Our grief support programs in place are dedicated to helping you during your difficult time and making each day a little easier for you when a loved one is lost.
We are here for you, contact us today to learn more about our support programs.
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