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Staying afloat over Christmas

Posted on December 15th, 2017

The holiday season should be a time of great joy, but when you have lost someone close to you it can be an incredibly painful time. Whether you have lost somebody recently or a long time ago the same feelings can arise year after year. Intense loneliness can sometimes set in as you may feel like shutting yourself away from the world and cancelling Christmas. Coping mechanism vary from person to person, do take a look at some of the things we believe can help make things easier:

Take care of yourself

When grieving sanctuary can often be found in routines, such as going to work, taking a trip to your favourite places or simply walking to your local shops every day. However, during holidays work can disappear, shops are closed and public transport grinds to a halt, which can leave you feeling isolated. The desire to indulge in alcohol and food to dull the pain may be overwhelming, but keeping to a routine like daily exercise and getting outside can relieve the cabin fever you may be feeling.

Plan your time

Having outlined how routines can be good for dealing with grief, it is wise to try and plan your time during the holidays effectively. Knowing where you are going to be and how you will get there can take pressure off you, as your mind may be elsewhere. Preparing your time, whether you want to cancel Christmas or celebrate as normal, can help bring a traditional feel to the holiday season which can be comforting for you and others around you.

Remembering loved ones

Family occasions, like Christmas, will inevitably bring back fond memories of someone who is no longer with you. It is vital to embrace these feeling and remember the good times, but it could leave you missing them more than ever. A good way to cope with this is to talk to them whether out loud or in your head. You can also visit their grave, site of their ashes or favourite place to feel closer to them as well as sharing memories and photos with people to help you talk freely about them.

Don’t turn people away

There will be people willing to help but they may not be quite sure how to offer support. You may not feel like talking to people but they can be a great way to share memories and help lighten the load. If you don’t really want to go to someone else’s house for Christmas say so, but do try to let people be around as even though you may feel like you want to be alone people can surprise you and make living with grief easier to bear.

Take time for you

Being kind to yourself is a vital lesson we all have to learn in life but becomes more imperative in times of grief. If there is a time when your feelings overcome you then do not be afraid to take time for yourself as everyone will understand. There is no right or wrong way to grieve so never be ashamed of feeling down when memories arise. It is an important part of the process and something that in the long run will make you feel better and become easier to deal with.

Here at Freedom Funerals, we pride our service on being there for people when they need it most so if you do want to talk about something then our compassionate team are here to help on 01206 862963.