Dealing With Bereavement As a Family - How Families Can Help Each Other Cope

When a friend or family member dies, the loss can be very difficult to handle. Some people might go into a deep depression, others might become really angry, and some might even turn to destructive behavior like drugs and alcohol addiction to numb the pain that they must be feeling. How people react to such a devastating loss depends on the individual. Also, depending on the relationship of the person who passed away to the family, there might be some changes in the family dynamic as well, especially if this person was an immediate family people. Whatever effects the loss may have, dealing with bereavement as a family is vital.

If the person who passed away had a big role in the family structure, then there are going to be a lot of changes in the family dynamic. Specifically, family people will see a shift in their roles and responsibilities, relationships may change, and the communication between family members and the support that family members offered each other might unfortunately suffer as a result. All of these changes can disrupt the grieving process, and dealing with bereavement as a family becomes even more important in these kinds of situations.

Because the way the family operates may be breaking down as a direct result of the loss, dealing with bereavement as a family may be able to restore the stability of the household and resolve any tension that might linger. Therefore, families can and should help each other cope with grief. However, it may be a challenge because individual members may each respond to the loss differently, which may cause tension among family members if each is unable to tolerate the way that the others express their grief. Therefore, it is very important to understand that each family member is going to express their grief their own way and to be accepting of these differences.

Once that is done, then the family members should be able to support each other fully without passing any judgment. They should be able to talk with each other about their feelings openly and to provide each other with the support and understanding that is needed in these kinds of situations. Professional counseling may also be able to facilitate the process of dealing with bereavement as a family. Family members should encourage each other daily to express whatever they are feeling in order to deal with the loss and death successfully.