From guilt to depression, people experience a wide range of emotions when a loved one dies. Before and after a funeral, it can be difficult for close friends to know what to do to help the mourner cope with grief and start the healing process. If someone close to you has recently experienced loss, below are ways you can provide the support needed during trying times. 

How You Can Help Grieving Friends

Make Specific Arrangements

Although a grieving friend will appreciate the offer of help whenever needed, try to be as specific as possible when making arrangements. Tending to the affairs of the deceased and planning a funeral while grieving can take a physical and mental toll. This could leave your friend too drained to reach out and take you up on the offer of help. To ensure they get assistance when needed, state a specific date and time you will be by to look in on them and what chores or errands you will perform.

Don’t Interject Your Feelings

Everyone processes loss differently, so don’t interject your feelings into what another person is experiencing. When helping a friend cope with grief, your objective is to listen. Giving the person a chance to articulate their feelings will help them come to terms with what happened and start to heal.

Be the Point of Contact for Supporters 

If your friend has lost a member of their immediate family, they could be flooded with phone calls, emails, letters, and text messages from loved ones wanting to offer their condolences before and after the funeral. Although the support is appreciated, it can also be overwhelming when grieving. To help your friends, serve as the point of contact between them and their other friends and acquaintances.

If you or a loved one have experienced loss, the caring, compassionate professionals at Silver Creek Mortuary in Gallup, NM, will help create a touching, personalized funeral service for the departed to provide the closure needed so you can heal. To discuss planning a service in McKinley County, call (505) 371-3690. You can also visit the funeral home online to discover the many ways they will honor your loved one.