Published on June 18, 2018
“I can’t thank you enough for all the support you gave to me and my family. I’m ready to begin doing some volunteer work.” – Alive Grief Support Client
Grief can be overwhelming, befuddling, and confounding. All of us will experience the force of this emotional tidal wave at some point in our lives. But none of us has to face it alone.
“Your bereavement letters were received like hugs in the mail. They came when I needed them most. It was like you knew when to mail them.” – Alive Grief Support Client
Alive’s director of grief support, David Neese, says, “Grief is a universal, natural, and normal response to loss. But as Helen Keller said, ‘The world is full of suffering. It’s also full of the overcoming of it.’ Sometimes we can use a little help with the overcoming part.”
Our team is here to help with individual counseling and group sessions. Families receive mailings throughout the first year of loss, notifying them of opportunities to work with our counselors and participate in public memorial events. For our hospice families, bereavement services are free of charge. For clients beyond our patient families, we use a sliding fee scale and never turn anyone away based on ability to pay.
David offers these tips to help you heal:
- Be willing to reach out to professionals and friends you feel safe with. Identify what type of support is important to you (you know better than anyone). Identify the people, resources, and activities that best meet your needs.
- No two losses are the same. For every loss, we have a unique grief response. Grief is not just about the emotional response. Some losses impact everything about us: The mental, physical, social, and spiritual. Learn about grief and the range of manifestations that are common, and know that you are not alone.
- Avoid judging your grief (grieving too much or not enough, for too long or not long enough). It’s a safe bet that your response to a given loss makes sense, whatever it is.