Tips For Dealing With a Death In The Family

Sometimes at some point or another, a family member passes away.  This can be an emotional and confusing time for everyone involved particularly the children. It can be a time of having to accept that life is fleeting and people that we love can go at any moment.  Not only can it be a hard thing to endure yourself, but having to be strong for your kids can make the situation even harder.

It is important to remember that it is normal to feel like your emotions are running high and you can’t seem to make sense of the situation.  Depending on how close you were with the person that passed away, you may feel any wide range of emotions. When there is a death in the family try the following tips for making it through.

Talk About It

It is important to work through your feelings by talking about it.  Sometimes the best therapy is talking through your issues. By addressing your complexities, you can start on the road to healing emotionally along with the rest of your family.  When you talk through it, you are letting your feelings out instead of bottling them in.

Opening the lines of communication amongst your family is one of the healthiest things you can do in order to avoid further emotional issues that could come up at a later time.

Encourage Tears

Sometimes when families are suffering a loss they feel as if they cry too much it may only worsen the pain.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  In fact, crying not only makes you feel more released but you will actually feel better knowing that you aren’t the only one feeling pain if you cry together.

Crying isn’t a sign of weakness but a sign that you are confronting your pain head to head.  Try to cry as soon as you start to feel the urge.  You will feel much better afterward.

Be Patient With Yourself

Remember that healing is a process and that you should be patient with however long it takes you to feel better.  When you rush yourself into believing that you should be healed quickly then you are forgetting that there is no absolutely timeline to coming to closure when you lose someone.

Remember that even if you feel devastated after months this is completely normal and no two people have the same healing time.

Consider Therapy
You may want to consider therapy for you and your family so that a professional can help guide you through the steps.  Sometimes no matter how much we try to be strong the amount of emotions running through our minds can start to overwhelm us.  A professional is there to help work through these feelings with you to better understand what is happening.