Funerals play a critical role in the grief process. They allow an individual to mourn publicly, find support and acknowledge the loss. It is an important step in the process but for the griever it is only the beginning. After the funeral and wake, many leave with condolences, but the individual griever is left with a year long process of adjusting to life without the loved one.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a Grief Counseling Certification. Also please review AIHCP’s Funeral Associate Program
Talking about one’s grief is an important process in healing. Individuals need to share grief and experiences with others to help heal. When individuals discuss grief they can hear themselves talk and receive feedback in regards to their emotions.
It can sometimes be difficult to talk about grief. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “How to Talk About Your Grief” by Rachel Maier discusses how to better talk about one’s grief. She states,
“When you lose a child, it’s hard to express the oceanic depths of your heartache. I know this because I lost my child, too. Over time, I’ve gained perspective and learned how to talk about it. Talking about my loss was like lighting a lantern in a dark cave. It helped me escape the void of despair and begin to heal. Now, I’d like to help you do the same. Here are some tips to try, based on things I’ve learned while navigating how to talk about my loss.”
Please also a review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling.
Grief Counselors are called to respond to grief. They are trained to listen to others and respond to the grieving process. Grief Counselors can help guide individuals through this maze of a process and help them find adjustment to the loss. Society also responds to grief in different ways.
Society responds to grief in many ways. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Program
The article, “Responding to the Grief of Others” by Grant Brenner looks closer at how grief is understood within society and how to respond. He states,
“Loss becomes more and more common as we get older. The same coping responses that serve us well at one time—disengaging from emotion, focusing on moving forward—may later lead to struggle as those adaptations characteristically pose barriers to self-awareness and connection with others. Healthy grieving requires not only drawing upon personal resources but also receiving appropriate support from those around us. This includes cultural responses to death and dying.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional needs. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling.
In grief we deal with many emotions and its difficult to sometimes discuss it or experience it. We work through grief at our own pace and own way. It is because of this, it is important to avoid being bullied in grief and to have our own set of boundaries. We have discussed Grief Bullies in the past.
Grief bullies are individuals who attempt to impose their style of grieving on an individual. They also can try to diminish the grief of a person as not important or relevant. These individuals are an issue in themselves, but being able to stand up for oneself and set boundaries are critical. Grief boundaries are important in grieving and especially during the Holiday season. These are the times, when individuals, either grief bullies or good intentioned individuals may push the issue.
Emotional boundaries are important to begin with. In every part of life, it is critical to set boundaries. Whether at work, school or with friends, it is important not to allow individuals to push one around. While it is OK to help others, to be flexible and understanding, it is equally important to have boundaries that prevent individuals from imposing their will or impeding upon one’s limits. Hence it is important to have boundaries and also important to enforce those boundaries.
Help for grief is good but you can have boundaries in how you express with other people. Ultimately it is up to you. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
Boundaries can be enforced without hostility. They can be laid out calmly but firmly to individuals who test those grounds. Usually, individuals who unknowingly push a boundary only need told once, while others may need reminded more than that but it is important to hold firm to boundaries. Grief is no exception.
What’s Your Grief discussed a variety of ideas on Grief Boundaries in one of their most recent blogs. Some important information to take from it are as follows.,
In establishing a boundary, be clear, firm, and communicate it. Do not apologize for it, but be prepared to face questions that you owe no answer for. In addition, let the individual know of consequences when boundaries are crossed and be prepared to enforce it. In addition, be prepared to feel the natural discomfort that sometimes comes with standing up for oneself. Individuals worth keeping in your life, will understand.
In regards to grief, while it is sometimes good to take help, it is OK, if you are not ready for that help and it is OK to decline that help. Let others know, some days you may not feel that great and if you need time alone to respect that. Grief can make one feel unable to participate in going to an event or hanging with a friend. In these cases, it is OK to back out especially when you are first dealing with the sting of loss. Do not allow grief bullies to keep you in or keep you out.
Also feel free to dismiss questions that may seem to soon or intruding. You are not obligated to answer questions regarding your personal life. For instance, if dating seems too son, feel free to dismiss the question. In addition to this, one’s boundary should be able to decline advice and just ask one to simply listen. Sometimes, advice is not ready to be heard or not the advice we need. It is OK, to tell the well intentioned person, that you do not want advice but just an open ear. If individuals discuss with you their issues, it is also OK to let them know you are not in a place to help them because you are still dealing with your own grief.
It is OK also to decline to tell someone how a loved one passed. Sometimes people ask this secondary question. It is only up to you if you wish to share how a person died. You can tell them, it is to painful to recall, or you do not wish to relive it, or that the question is too triggering. You may say that you will talk about it another day, or you may say it is a private matter. Ultimately you should not disclose what makes you uncomfortable. You must set the boundary and live by it.
Boundaries in grief are important. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
During the Holidays, many of these things may occur. Family and friends will want to see you, or expect certain traditions or visits to be upheld. It is especially important to let family and friends know if you want to be alone or if you do not wish to celebrate that particular tradition. Maybe you are not ready and that is OK. Again it is important not to succumb to grief bullying.
Ultimately, you may make individuals uncomfortable when setting boundaries and that is OK. You need to let them know about your feelings and remind them you are moving at your own pace and speed in your grief.
If you would like to learn how to help others deal with grief, please review the American Academy of Grief Counseling’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling.
Related Source and Content
What’s Your Grief “Setting Your Grief Boundaries”–please click here to review
Divorce is a major disruption in life and a life altering change. It brings about not only romantic loss but multiple secondary losses. Adjusting to these losses and finding a new routine and life narrative can be very difficult for many people.
Going through a divorce is a difficult transition. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “Working Through Grief After Divorce” by Melissa Porrey looks at how difficult the transition can be for many facing the grief of divorce. She states,
“When going through a divorce or ending a significant intimate relationship, grieving allows us to work through the thoughts and feelings that are brought on by the many different losses that come with it. Whether it’s working through the physical loss of another person being absent from the home, a loss of security, loss of friendship or companionship, or even financial loss, each needs to be acknowledged and grieved.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling
Grief Counseling can help many individuals through the bereavement process. It becomes difficult for many to sometimes progress through grief. Some experience prolonged grief, others experience depression. For the most part, many merely experience normal and natural grief and adaptation. Grief Counselors can help others through it
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling
Sometimes loss is so terrible and horrible that it causes trauma at the deepest levels to the person. Grief that is unexpected or due to intense human cruelty or natural disaster and war can leave indelible marks on the soul. This type of loss takes extra time to heal and sometimes requires longer therapy to find healing.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counselig.
Depression can be acute and have a reason behind it that develops from Prolonged Grief or it can be chronic. It can also have no true origin. It can be Clinical Depression or Seasonal Depression Disorder due to the seasons. It can be due to having a child and be post partum, or due to bio polar disorder.
Depression can manifest in different ways. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “W
hat to Expect From Therapy for Depression—and How to Start the Process” by Ashley Abramson looks into the various types of depression. She states,
“Depression can be an insidious condition that looks and feels different for everybody. It may present as feelings of hopelessness for one person and irritability or overwhelming fatigue for someone else. If you experience at least five of the following signs of depression for most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks, your physician or therapist might diagnose you with some form of depression:”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling.
Sometimes grief and loss can be so vicious, so cruel and sudden that it can tear a person apart. What a person can see, witness and experience can traumatize the soul. In these intense types of death and loss, a person may experience various trauma and complications within the grieving process. War, crime, natural disaster, mass death, and sudden losses can all cause intense trauma for the griever.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Grief Counselor
Avoidance can be big issue in anything we do not wish to face. It is natural to avoid distasteful things in our life that bring back bad memories. Places, things, even scents can remind one of the past. We naturally tend to gravitate towards things of happy memory.
Trying to avoid grief and its emotions never works. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
However, with grief, while initially helpful, one needs to eventually face the issue or the bereavement process will halt. One cannot keep avoiding a certain room, or a particular place. Many try to cope by avoiding by immersing themselves in work, or other things to silence the pain. However, avoiding the pain can cause bigger issues that prevent overall healing.
The article, “What is Avoidance Behavior? An Explainer” by Eleanor Haley takes a closer look at avoidance behaviors and how they can negatively affect. She states,
“When you are grieving, every person, place, or thing connected with your loss takes on the risk of reminding you of something painful. And in the early days of grief, reminders are everywhere. Not only are they all around you, but they’re inside, too, in your thoughts and memories. ”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling
