This article was put together from a podcast recorded by Charles Bryce, CEO of Charlin Health Services. Charles is joined by Kathleen Fallon, a chaplain for Charlin Health. Listen to the podcast here.
The article focuses on how you can help friends or family members deal with grief. People who are dealing with a recent loss say they’re ‘fine’ too often. While grieving people may not need a helicopter friend, there are things you can watch for and things you can do to help.
Reach Out
Simply knowing someone is there to listen to their thoughts and feelings can make a grieving person feel better. Pushing a grieving person to talk, however, should never be attempted. People grieve in different ways–the person you are trying to talk to may already have a great support network.
Still, letting someone know you are there if they need anything (talking, food, shopping, help with errands, etc) can go a long way in helping them.
Listen
This is very important–if a grieving person decides to talk about the situation with you… listen! Situations like this usually indicate the person just needs to let feelings and emotions out to a third party, someone who understands.
In situations where a person grieving the loss of a loved one decides to talk to you, they usually don’t care about what you have to say–they just need a listener. If they ask you questions, answer. If they don’t, keeping quiet and listening is the best way to help.
Remembrance Time
Remembrance time can be an amazing way to help loved ones who are experiencing loss-related grief feel some positive feelings. Don’t rush this, however! Times of remembrance can be used to reflect on birthdays, holidays, or other special days.
Losing a loved one is losing someone you have shared experiences with. Times of remembrance allow family and friends to speak about what they miss and recollect fond memories. This can be very healing and help families & friends see the loss through a lens of love.
Remembrance time is best handled by families and close friends. People need to have solid pictures of a person to talk about them adequately.
Charlin Health Services
At Charlin Health Services we pride ourselves on honor, integrity, excellence, compassion, dignity, and trust. If you have any needs or questions about health services, hospice care, or other medical needs, please send us an email or give us a call.
About the Healthcare Expert
Kathleen Fallon started working in the healthcare industry in 1996. She started working in healthcare because she always wanted to help people with end-of-life care and associated difficulties. After years of extensive training in hospice care, Kathleen moved to Salt Lake City, UT where she was the assistant administrator of hospice services at a large assisted living facility.
While in Salt Lake City, Kathleen also oversaw the spiritual care unit. All of her work eventually lead to the establishment of an in-house hospice care unit at the assisted living facility. Kathleen eventually returned to Dallas, TX where she took up the role of chaplain at Charlin Health Services.
