End-of-life care (5)
- Terminal illness: Supporting a terminally ill loved one
- Hospice care: Comforting the terminally ill
- End of life: Caring for a dying loved one
- see all in End-of-life care
Grief (9)
- Grief: Coping with reminders after a loss
- Suicide grief: Healing after a loved one's suicide
- Infant death: Grief and the path to remembrance
- see all in Grief
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Dealing with grief: Confronting painful emotions
Easing the healing process of grief
Painful as my own grief was, my mother's death gave me new insight on dealing with grief. Although there are no quick fixes for the anguish after a loved one's death, I learned that you can take steps to make the coping easier. Here are my suggestions:
- Actively grieve and mourn. Grief is an inner sense of loss, sadness and emptiness. Mourning is how you express those feelings. You might plan a funeral or memorial service, wear black, and carry a somber demeanor. Both grief and mourning are natural and necessary parts of the healing process after a loss.
- Acknowledge your pain. If you don't face your grief, your wounds might never quite go away. Accept that the pain you're feeling is part of dealing with grief and moving toward a state of healing and acceptance.
- Look to loved ones and others for support. Spending some time alone is fine, but isolation isn't a healthy way to deal with grief. A friend, a confidant, a spiritual leader — all can help you along the journey of healing. Allow loved ones and other close contacts to share in your sorrow or simply be there when you cry.
- Don't make major decisions while grieving. Grief clouds the ability to make sound decisions. If possible, postpone big decisions — such as moving, taking a new job or making major financial changes. If you must make decisions right away, seek the input or guidance of trusted loved ones or other close contacts.
- Take care of yourself. Grief consumes a significant amount of energy. Your will to live and ability to follow normal routines might quickly erode. To combat these problems, try to get adequate sleep, eat a healthy diet and include physical activity in your daily routine. Consider a medical checkup to make sure your grief isn't adversely affecting your health — especially if you have any existing health conditions.
- Remember that time helps, but it might not cure. Time has the ability to make that acute, searing pain of loss less intense and to make your red-hot emotions less painful — but your feelings of loss and emptiness might never completely go away. Accepting and embracing your new "normal" might help you reconcile your losses.
Losing a loved one is devastating. Someday, however, the sun will shine again. The day will seem brighter and your life will go on — even if it'll never be quite the same.
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
Division of Medical Oncology
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
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References
- Block SD. Grief and bereavement. http://www.uptodate.com/index.html. Accessed Oct. 13, 2011.
- Factsheet: Coping with bereavement. Mental Health America. http://www.nmha.org/go/information/get-info/grief-and-bereavement/coping-with-loss. Accessed Oct. 13, 2011.
- Mourning the death of a spouse. National Institute on Aging. http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/spouse.htm. Accessed Oct. 13, 2011.
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