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Anyone can experience grief and loss. The person may
have loss a loved one, ended a relationship, or
experienced some other loss. Reactions to grief and loss
vary widely. Strong feelings such as sadness, guilt,
anger, panic, loneliness, and helplessness can occur.
Accepting these feelings may be uncomfortable, but
recovery can only happen after acceptance.
Guidelines for Supporting and Healing
- Listen. Don’t play down the loss.
Be attentive and allow the grieving person to
express their thoughts and feelings. Be careful;
don’t tell them what they should feel. Acknowledge
that what they’re feeling is Ok.
- Offer Support. Offer your time and
support to lend a helping hand. Make a phone call.
Ask what you can do. A grieving person may need
someone to get class notes during their absence, fix
a good meal, or help with cleaning their room or
apartment.
- Encourage self-care. Taking care
of physical needs and emotional recovery are
especially important. Encourage accepting nice
things from others and doing nice things for self.
This includes coming to counseling to get a better
understanding of what to expect during recovery
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