Loss and Grief

HOW TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE GRIEVING

Not sure how to help someone who is grieving?

Lighthouses don’t go running all over the island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.’ Anne Lamott.

You don’t have to have magical words or actions but if you can sit with someone in their pain, accept who they are and what they need to be, that will be a powerful light to them and something to cling to when the world is very dark.

TEARS AND GRIEF

There is a sacredness in tears….They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love. Washington Irving

Tears are only one way we may know that people are grieving. There are many varied ways people grieve – anger, withdrawal, exercise, guilt, music…add your own!

WHAT DOES NORMAL GRIEF LOOK LIKE?

The most common question I am asked in my grief and bereavement work is –  ‘Is this normal? I feel like I am going crazy’

Grief can be all consuming and the power of your emotions- fear, uncertainty and the deep sadness are usually emotions many of us have never experienced before.

There is no NORMAL way to grieve, there are no NORMAL timelines for how long we can expect to grieve. There are some losses that we will grieve for the course of our lifetime, though of course they won’t always be as intense as they are in the earlier days, weeks, months and potentially even years.