Stuck in Grief?
If you or someone you know is having a hard time processing grief, you may want to consider the following ideas, which will help you focus on your feelings and the other issues you must deal with to grieve successfully.
Write
Keep a journal in which you write down your feelings and thoughts about your loss.
Remember
Actively revive memories, events and relationships associated with the one you lost. Meditate on the details and think through every facet of the relationship.
Read
Read the Psalms and write down the verses that speak to you.
Diagram Your Losses
Draw a "personal history" timeline and mark where your major losses have occurred throughout your life. (Age one on the left; your current age on the right.)
Return
Visit the familiar environments associated with the lost relationship.
Remember Realistically
With family (or close friends) sit down in a quiet unhurried place, and write down the distinctive characteristics, habits and "idiosyncrasies" of the person who has died. Record real-life events, not idealized scenarios.
Say Good-Bye
Say good-bye to the relationship as it once existed. Let family and friends help you create new memories, without blocking out those of the person you lost. Make new friends. Be a friend!
GriefShare is a special grief recovery seminar and support group to help people as they grieve the death of a family member or friend. To find a GriefShare group, visit our search engine at www.griefshare.org or call 1-800-395-5755.
© MCMXCIX, MMVI by Church Initiative. All rights reserved. Reproducible when used in conjunction with a GriefShare ministry.
