It has only been two weeks since the airline crash,while the news has moved on to other breaking stories, the families effected by this tragedy have not. Our hearts at Help4Grief.com are aching for the families who are dealing with horrific news and who are grieving the death of friends and family. The shock and disbelief must be overwhelming.
When an accident takes our loved ones away, it sets life into a very surreal state.
Death always does this to those left behind, but sudden death is often wrought with more questions, more shock and more disbelief.
How can you help?
Allow the griever to physically release their pain: Crying, wailing, heavy breathing, panic attacks, pacing, shaking are all normal trauma reactions.
Be Slow to Speak: Keep your words to yourself, listen to them, hold their hand.
Offer Practical Help: Offer to visit with them or call on regular basis to be a listening ear. Find support group information or a grief counselor. Offer to runs errands, clean the house, wash clothes, pick up dinner.
Be Okay with Questions: In sudden loss there comes a lot of unanswered questions and sometimes regrets. If you do not know the answer, do not offer a platitude, simply say, “I don’t know.”
Be Slow to Speak: Yes, this is a Repeat. It’s so important to practice being quiet with a grieving person. Even if you have shared a similar experience, we each experience grief in different ways.
Grieving a Sudden Death is very different from grieving a death that may have been anticipated. Both are awful and painful.
We never want to compare the pain of one death vs. another because it does not help anyone.
Sudden death does come with a different set of complications. If you are grieving the death of a loved one who died suddenly, talk with a friend or call a grief counselor.
