Helping Someone In Times Of Grief
When someone you care about suffers a loss you’ll want to support them. But how do you help someone who is grieving? Since grief does not come with a handbook we’ll share some of the way you can be supportive in times of need.
1. Help By Staying in Contact
During times of loss and grief there is a feeling loneliness and isolation. Those who are grieving may not reach out for the help they need. They will go through many emotions, and depending on their loss some people may require more help than others.
By reaching out with a phone call, text, or even a handwritten letter, you can make them feel less isolated in their time of need.
Keeping up with your loved ones and those who are grieving around you is crucial when there is a loss of human interaction. If possible call them daily or have a plan to stay in contact.
Don’t be surprised if they do not call you back. Often times people who are grieving will isolate and avoid interactions. If they are struggling or don’t return your call keep trying. Leave a note and keep an eye on them. This is a time they need to know they are not alone.
2. Don’t Relate or Compare
When talking through difficult conversations like death or losses, it may seem easier to relate it back to yourself in an effort to make the other person feel like they are not alone. However, comparing your loss or sharing someone else’s experience can make them feel like their emotions are invalid and not understood.
Rather than comparing their loss to another loss, listen to what they are going through and be there for emotional support.
This allows them to express their emotions and sometimes just talking about the situation rather than keeping it bottled up can help improve their situation.
3. Help Them With Meals
One of the biggest ways to help someone grieving is to assist them with meals. When someone is grieving a loss, it can be hard to get off of the couch or get out of bed to cook a meal.
By going to the grocery store for them and preparing food can improve their day greatly. It shows them how much you support them and care.
When someone experiences a loss, their whole routine will feel out of line and it will take time to adjust, so anything you can do to keep their routine moving will be greatly appreciated.
4. Be There to Listen
Although there are many ways to show your support and for someone who is grieving, one of the most important things to do is just be there to liste. Even though it may seem like the person needs advice, they often just need a place to let out what is going through their head. If you don’t have any words just being there while they talk is on of the very best ways for giving support.
Unless they ask for advice, the best thing to do is acknowledge their feelings. Let them know that it it’s okay to feel what they are feeling. And whatever they are going through is normal during a loss.
5. Let Go of Expectations
Since everyone grieves in different ways, it may take your loved one a lot longer to adjust emotionally and mentally than you would expect. Instead of judging them and wishing that they would be back to normal, you need to let go of your expectations.
Providing support for as long as they need it will help them to move through their grief easier than pushing them to adjust quicker.
Especially during difficult and unpredictable times like these, someone may be grieving over something that you may not think is a big deal in compared to other events going on. However, judging the situation and providing these types of opinions will only hurt the other person and make their feelings seem invalid.
Concluding How to Help Someone Grieving
There are many different ways to be supportive in times of grief, and these different solutions will vary based on the situation and what the other person is going through. It is important to recognize that during times like these, people may be grieving things that stray from the norm, but being there for them and reaching out for support will help them in more ways than you could imagine.
