People die, relationships end, illnesses occur. We cannot stop these things - they happen.
I lost my beloved Mother myself on December 22nd, 2005.
In dealing with my own at times unbearable grief I have learnt a few things.
I would like to share them with anyone who is dealing with grief themselves at the moment.
Doctors say a period of grief can range on average 6 - 12 months. The first few weeks are hard you wonder how on Earth you will get through... but with love, faith, hope, action and the support of family and friends we get through those first devestating weeks.
The daily crying gives way to every few days, then it becomes weekly. After that it becomes every few weeks or monthly and so forth.
Of course there will be bad days, and you will think I am not better now than I was 6 months ago, but if you look back over the passage of time you will realise you are doing ok.
Of course if your grief is so debilitating that you cannot get out of bed to feed your family, you are suffering major depression and need to seek medical advice.
There are many support groups out there in your home town or even on the internet. Their are grief groups in Yahoo Groups, there are grief groups in MSN Groups. There are website grief groups also.
I joined Griefnet.org and found the email support there inspirational and helpful. You find others going through exactly what you are.. and it does... it helps to talk to someone who is feeling exactly as you are.. and later on you can give new members of that ever growing group support when they join and feel so lost they believe they cannot find their way.
In the next few pages I would like to share some ideas I have had for helping oneself to deal with their grief.
I hope these few ideas, poems and rituals will help others as they helped me...
Isisidownunder July 2006.
Try a new hobby... read the books you have been meaning to and haven't bothered with.
Read about the afterlife for example... learning about how your loved one is now living in Heaven/The Kingdom etc can help with your grief.
Walk the dog daily, go for picnics, go join a Gym etc. I cannot stress ENOUGH how important it is to keep the mind and body active. I myself found a lot of peace at the beach where my family and I used to go when I was a child. Reliving old memories sure, but seeing the beauty that is there inspires one also..
Sitting around, doing nothing, solves nothing...
Please join me on the next page where I will go into these ideas or rituals in more detail...
