The 5 Most Important Times to Reach Out to a Grieving Person:
- Upon hearing about the death.
Respond quickly. Pick up the phone and call or visit your friend to offer your condolences and support.
- At the funeral service.
Attend whatever funeral services have been scheduled. This may be in the form of a visitation, a funeral service, or a memorial service.
- Within two weeks after the services, reach out again.
A griever's support network dwindles quickly after the funeral services are over and people go back to their own lives.
- The first holiday or birthday without the loved one.
Often times grieving people don't want to be around celebrations because they feel as though they are going to bring down the party goes with them. Invite your friend to your family celebration with the understanding that no one is going to try and cheer them up, make them happy, or tell them how to feel.
- The anniversary of the death.
The first year is often the period of most intense mourning. Send your friend a card acknowledging that you remembered it has been one year since their loss.
Martha Thayer, Founder of End of Life Insights, is also the Department Chair of the Mortuary Science Program at Arapahoe Community College. She is the Author of several books including End of Life Insights Colorado. For more information on grief and loss support, visit her website at www.endoflifeinsights.com