Paths to Healing

 

The grieving process can feel arduous and also confusing, both for the bereaved and for the people surrounding them. The following pages may be useful for you or for helping a loved-one who is grieving. 

What is grief?
Normal emotional and physical responses to grief.
Talking about grief.

In coming to terms with the death of a loved one, you will be faced with decisions about how you will tend to your grief, begin the work of healing, and continue the work of living. Restructuring your life following a loss is enhanced by doing it deliberately. It requires thought, patience, a willingness to be honest with yourself, and the courage to change. One way to begin is to study your talents, resources, and options, as well as blocks to self-fulfillment. Support groups and counseling can contribute to this process of self-discovery and provide a needed connection with others. 

Sometimes after the funeral mourners experience their friends and family members resuming their normal lives and routines while they remain in a different rhythm. Because the feelings of grief can be so overwhelming, a group provides a vehicle in which to express your deep anguish while other members both listen and provide you with an emotional container for your pain. Witnessing others going through their own bereavement process makes your own process not less painful but less alone. You no longer feel that you are the only one experiencing a loss. Because of this, bereavement groups are considered a particularly effective therapeutic format for coping with grief. See About Group Therapy for Grief for more information.