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Practical Ways to Face Your Grief This Holiday Season:
For the first time, some of us might be facing an empty chair at our holiday table or we could be facing another
year without our loved one. Can we find some pleasure when we’re missing a loved one? Here is some thoughtful advice
on dealing with grief during the holidays.
Grieving is hard every time of the year, but most especially difficult during the holiday season. Most bereaved people
find holidays, anniversaries and anticipated events to be very difficult, especially difficult during the first few years
of their grief. And many feel fresh waves of sadness around special days even years after their loved one’s death.
Special days are all about relationships, and that’s one reason they’re so difficult.
Don’t be blindsided. Getting blindsided by a special date makes it even more difficult. Take
out your calendar and begin thinking about which days were special. After listing the tough days, write down two or three
ways you used to spend the day…and two or three ways you’d like to spend the day this year, and with
whom.
Stay healthy. Most people overeat, delay exercise, and get inadequate rest during the holiday season.
Yet grief itself takes a great toll on your body’s physical well being. Get extra rest, drink lots of fluids, don’t
overindulge in junk food.
Find a new normal. Much as you might want to do everything like the past, grief means finding a
“new normal,” and that means deciding which of your traditions you’d like to keep. If you’ve
always entertained the entire family at your place but now lack the energy, suggest having a potluck or dining at a restaurant.
Maybe this year you don’t send out holiday cards. You can resume traditions in the future. Honor your loved one’s
memory in some way, perhaps by making a contribution to charity or take flowers to the cemetery. Don’t forget
about younger family members. Ask their opinions on establishing new traditions.
Join a bereavement support group. We are not made to grieve alone but to share with others. Bereavement
support groups provide great gathering places to exchange ideas and find support. If you haven’t already found a group,
ask a friend, your funeral director, a member of the clergy, or a healthcare professional to recommend one.
Volunteer. The pain from special days might be lessened when you find someone else to help. Check
your daily newspaper or volunteer center to see where your help may be needed.
The holidays may still be difficult without a loved one, but keep in mind your loved one is still with you. Forever
in your heart.
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What is your Favorite Easter Memory
Sometimes it just helps to remember. Take two minutes to remember past years. Happy memories can aid in your
well being. They also release some of your pent up emotions.
"Perhaps they are not stars in the sky but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy."
Future Issue Requests:
Don't forget to check out our future issues tab. This is where we will be posting special features for our upcoming
issues.
Memory-Of has become a problem for many. What do we do when our Angel sites are down. Some made new sites, others
connect through email, and some just sit and wait. The month of March has been very hard on everyone. But what
is heart warming is the out reach to those in need. What a group we have become. I would like to send out
a special Thank You to all those who have reached out and touched just one person in this hard time. Kudos to you.
May we always remember the love shared by a group of heart broken people. Bless You !
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Remembering your loved one
Though life may be one of the best and most inspiring phenomena in the world today, it is also a fact of life that it must
end. Death is the only inevitability as far as we human beings are concerned. And the best thing that we can do when a loved
on of ours dies is to remember and commemorate them in the most special way we can.
For those of use who believe in the afterlife, it is a pleasing thought that our relatives and friends who have passed
on are looking down on us with pride and joy as we tell them how special they are even in death.
So what are some of the most creative ways that we can commemorate and honor our departed loved ones? Maybe you can try
these amazing tips:
- Burning Messages: All of us have messages and unsaid words that we wish to convey to those who have passed on. And the
best way for us to express that is to write them down and to have a minister bless the messages. After which, the messages
will be burned, and you can rest easy with the fact that all those unsaid words were finally conveyed.
- Create a Tribute Website: Making a tribute website to the dead is one of the best ways to remember them. Post funny
stories, pictures, music and other things about the deceased to remember how he or she was in life a complete blessing.
- Write a Biography: If you have talent in writing, you can do this to immortalize your loved one forever. That
also holds true for those who love to paint or play music. Why not dedicate your magnum opus to the one you love for them
to be remembered forever?
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