To suffer the death of a loved one is traumatic, no matter how well-prepared you believe you are.
The grief process that follows sometimes seems never-ending, and often the future looks to have insurmountable obstacles. Worst of all, you simply don't have your normal abilities for problem-solving. This is when it is so useful to have someone to turn to that can help you sort out what you need to make most important. |
Benefits of a bereavement support group
- As if you needed more to mess up your life, you suddenly become aware of a huge elephant in the room with you. You certainly can't get rid of this enormous challenge through the usual doorways. There is only one way, and that is to take it away and tidy up your room one bite at a time.
- A good bereavement support group will help you find ways to work through your sadness on a weekly basis, constantly moving forward with the participants, instead of staying stuck, or, even worse, regressing with your pain.
- Another great thing about sharing with others who have suffered a loss is that you bond with others in a way you would never have thought possible.
- An outsider's perception of a grief support group is that it would be a very depressing place to be, but in actual fact, everyone laughs a lot, and this is very good for producing endorphins and resulting in good health.
- Sometimes you need more help than a group can provide, and this is when you need a trained counsellor to help you start chewing away at your elephant.
- This person will help you decide where to focus your energy, and also provide you with more resources for your priority needs.
- Two excellent indicators that you may need another shoulder to lean on are when you don't have success using your debit card, or the automatic teller at the bank. There seems to be a disconnect between the brain and the machine!
- Know that this is normal; that it seems to happen to many people, and it will change.
These can be things like having small children at home, adult non-contributing children in the home, the necessity to suddenly produce more income, inexperience and inability to handle financial affairs. Tax time comes around in what appears to be the blink of an eye, and now that is yet another, very different thing to deal with.
All of these life issues must be handled by someone who is frightened, sad and struggling to cope with the loss that has been suffered. A support group offers help and practice in breaking these issues down into manageable bites.
- A support group teaches you to handle when other, often well-meaning folks say insensitive things, or even worse, nothing about your loss.
- Your support group helps you reduce the monstrous big elephant to a pint-size pet that you can handle.
Life goes on. It’s just very different. But you can find new, forever friends by attending a bereavement group. Please feel free to leave a comment below, also to subscribe free if you would like my newsletter each week.
The season of brighter days
Try it. You might find it gives you new strength for the day ahead.