The Healing Process and Coming to Terms with GRIEF

The Healing Process
and Coming to Terms with GRIEF

The healing process

The so called road to recovery is a long difficult journey and can be daunting.  However, for the sake of your mental health you do need to move on. For this important reason (your sanity)  it is an essential journey and there are a number of important points to remember which may (hopefully) help you.

It goes without saying but the first agonised months of any bereavement are stress-filled; so it is important to maintain close personal contact with other people, especially friends and relatives.

  • Bear in mind that each family member may be grieving in his or her own way and could feel ill at ease and unable to provide you with the emotional support which you need in this painful period.
  • If this is the case, you could take the initiative and 'break the ice' by talking with them about the suicide, and ask for their help if you need it.
  • Being able to accept what has happened will benefit you all. You all need to accept what has happened. 
  • Once the ice has been broken it will be possible for you all to share your feelings of loss and pain.
  • Never forget that children also experience    grief. They may need to be reassured that you still love them very much. As difficult as it may seem share your thoughts and feelings with them. More importantly perhaps, encourage them to share their feelings with you.
  • Some days will be more stressful than others. Special anniversaries, birthdays and holidays can all be painful reminders of the suicide. Try to organise these difficult days with you and your family's  emotional needs as your main concern.
  • In the initial stages it is quite common for those left behind to feel guilty for a while before you  accept that you are not to blame. Apparently, these feelings will pass. Remember, you are only human. Don't punish yourself. You have already suffered too much pain. Enough is enough.
  • It is also quite natural for people to try to  understand the feelings of the deceased. To try to put yourself in his or her place. But this 'need' should be abandoned if it becomes the sole reason to wake in the morning. Remember, your mental health must come first. 
  • You are very much alive, and you need to face the fact that eventually you will need to reclaim your life again. Not simply to survive. But to actually try to enjoy life again. This can be extremely difficult as people often feel that enjoyment is disloyal to the deceased. This is not so.
  • Considering what has happened and what you are going through, you will probably have a need for the comfort and support of a trusted listener. Another human being to share your feelings of grief and pain with.
  • Peer groups and online forums provide many people with much needed relief, comfort and support.
  • These groups are an excellent source of contacts, coping strategies and emotional support supplied by others who have lived through the same nightmare: And so will be able to understand what you are going through where others will not. 
  • Another helpful option is to obtain individual counselling. Either with a professional counsellor or religious representative.