It is one of those things that, unfortunately, we are each going to have to deal with in life. Truly, if there is a rite of passage that we all go through, it’s loss. But that is not to say that it’s easy to cope with – quite the opposite. It can also be difficult to even talk about it, but it is in many respects necessary to talk about it if we are going to be able to deal with it properly. In this post, we are going to talk about family loss: how to deal with it, how to help your kids deal with it, and generally what you can do to make the process a little easier on yourself and those around you.
Stick Together
This is one of those times when you really need to make sure you and your family are sticking together as best as you can. You will find that recovery comes much faster, and is much easier on everyone, if the whole family operates as a unit rather than as a bunch of individuals. If you make a point of trying to stick together from the outset, you will find that it is so much easier on all.
Of course, that doesn’t mean there won’t be difficulties. Many times, this kind of experience has a way of causing rifts in a family unit. But as long as you make a point of trying to stick together, you will all find that it is so much easier than you might have thought to get through this difficult time.
Address Your Emotions
One of the natural and normal responses to grief is to close off one’s emotions, even if only for a little while. This can make perfect sense, but it is also not the healthiest approach in the long run, and it is wise to try and address your emotions straight on if you possibly can. If you can do this, you will encourage your kids to do the same, and it is going to be a much healthier situation for everyone involved. Of course, it is not always easy, but as long as you make a point of trying it, you’ll feel the benefit of expressing yourself, and you will actually make the grief a lot shorter-lived in the long run too.
Plan Together
There are many things that you need to deal with on an administrative front when someone dies, and this can often seem to get in the way of the emotional side. In order to try and keep your family together, you might want to plan this stuff out together as best as you can too. You could have one person looking at booking in the funeral and informing people of dates, another person picking out the right slanted cemetery gravestones, and someone else choosing flowers. By simply planning together as a family, you will find that you have something to focus on, and that can really help the process in a big way.
Reach Out
Just because you are trying to mourn as a family doesn’t mean that you are not going to need to think about yourself as an individual – this is also an important part of the process, and you should endeavour not to overlook it, if you can at all help it. In fact, you should make a point of reaching out whenever you need to, as doing that is going to mean that you are much more likely to feel able to cope. You will also be setting a good example for your children to ask for help when they need it, too.
Look Ahead
As a family, you are going to need to try and look ahead. That doesn’t mean forgetting about the past or the person who has passed on. It just means putting at least some of your attention on what comes next, and on putting one foot ahead of the other. The better you are able to do this, the more likely it is that you are going to get ahead together, and be able to move on in the way you would hope. Although it can be tough to do, it is one of those things that you are going to need to try and do as best as you can anyway.
As you can see, a lot of this comes down to working as a family unit as best as you can. If you can do that, you are going to find it a lot easier to overcome the grief in time. However, you must be patient.
no time to read listen here we now have our own podcast https://anchor.fm/jade-rice/episodes/How-To-Cope-With-Family-Loss-evf45u Thanks for reading Jade x
Mummy and me x2 