through the difficult early stages of the grieving
process.
Be Watchful
Sometimes grieving people can go to
extremes, if you notice signs of suicidal
behavior or fear they may harm themselves
or others, refer them to a mental health
professional.
End of Life
GRIEF
HOW TO HELP A
GRIEVING PERSON
Listening
Listening to grieving people is the most
important thing you can do. Listen in a nonjudging
way, and allow them to tell their stories
over and over if they need to.
Sharing
Share your memories of the loved one, too.
Reflect on the feelings they are experiencing
- but as you share, be careful not to start oneupping
their feelings, or comparing your loss
to theirs. And don’t say “I know exactly how
you feel.” It’s usually much more helpful to say
something along the lines of “I can’t imagine
what you must be feeling right now,” because
most grieving people feel like no one else could
know what they are experiencing.
Timing
Each person recovers from grief at his or
her own pace. Some can recover quickly, while
others can take a full year or more (this will also
depend on the severity of the loss). Be careful
not to impose a time limit or tell people to
get over it and move on - feeling that they’ve
grieved too long can cause people to suppress
their feelings, and slow or stop the healing
process.
Be Tolerant
Remember that there’s no definitive way to
experience grief. Understand that the grieving
person will always feel the loss, but that he or
she will learn to live with it over time.
Celebrate
It may sound strange to talk about celebrating,
but it can help grieving people heal. Help them
celebrate the life of the loved one they’ve lost.
Help them develop rituals they need to get
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