Here are some tips on how to help a friend who’s grieving over the holidays, from bereavement counselor Linda Clark of Hospice and Palliative Care Inc. in New Hartford, N.Y.
Here are some tips on how to help a friend who’s grieving over the holidays, from bereavement counselor Linda Clark of Hospice and Palliative Care Inc. in New Hartford:
-- Don’t give open-ended offers of help. Grieving people don’t usually ask for help because they’re not sure what they need.
-- Offer a specific kind of help, such as helping to make pies, bringing in |dinner, helping with the cleaning, going to the |cemetery together or taking the person holiday shopping.
-- Give specific invitations, too. Invite the person over for Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, to a holiday concert or to come to church with you. Sometimes going to church without the loved one is particularly difficult.
-- Give an ornament in memory of the person who died.
-- Listen to the person talk about grief and the person who died.
-- Share a memory or a photo of the person who died. Refer to the deceased by name.
-- Grieving people often find it hard to do nice things for themselves. So take the person to the movies or out for a cup of cocoa.
Utica Observer-Dispatch