Grief can be one of the most difficult feelings one can ever endure. Although it is a natural process, it’s still a painful experience to go through alone. As a friend, you’re more than just company for shoe-shopping, but there are times when your friend will need you to help her cope with the loss of someone or even something important in her life. While sending a gift basket may seem appropriate, it’s really more than that. Here are some practical ways to help your grieving friend.
Listen to Her
A lot of people have different ways of coping with their emotions, especially when loss is involved. Some have the tendency to run-off and drink their pain away, while some would rather stay indoors for days without making any contact with the outside world. Neither of these two options are wise, so this is where your position as a friend comes in. Take her out for coffee to help her deal with her emotions naturally. Grief is a difficult emotion to go through without anyone to talk to, so be a good friend and listen. Put all judgements aside, and let her reveal her true self and share everything she remembered about what she had loss. Yes, we absolutely mean being a shoulder to cry on, so put all your personal concerns aside, and be the best person you can be.
Keep Her Safe
Grief can leave someone in a vulnerable, where they would feel compelled to seek help from all the wrong places. Easy answers aren’t usually the best way to help with issues, so try to protect your friend from going taking part in quick methods to wipe the pain away. But instead of restricting them from doing it, try sharing that experience with them. At the end of the day, it’s their emotions that they need to cope with, so don’t let her go through something you’re unsure of by herself.
Make Her Laugh
Laughter is the best medicine. It’s not a purely scientifically proven but helping her let out all her feel-good emotions should help her put aside her grief and share a laugh or two. Include her in your night out to a karaoke session, or a night-in with comedies. However, be careful about the movies you choose as they won’t touch on her emotions, which may end up being counterproductive.
Keep Watch for Unhealthy Reactions
Anyone going through grief is prone to going through a stage of depression or unhealthy responses like loss of appetite,social isolation or even suicidal thoughts. Once again, remember that you should not be passing judgement when someone’s going through grief. If you do notice any problems like these, try keeping a safe watch on her, get her close relatives informed about your friend’s situation. If she seems to be struggling very with the mourning process, it may be time to contact a grief expert.
