Did you know that older people experience grief differently than others? Grief can be a devastating impact on their immune systems. Grief is also more severe for people living in nursing homes and other senior living communities.
Remember the five stages of grief. You may experience each stage of the grieving process, or you may not. At a point, you will reach acceptance. At that point, you will still have all your fond memories of the person you lost, the things you did together, and your relationship with them. You can look back at these and be grateful. However, you will no longer be grieving their loss.
Here are certain things to do while grieving:
- Make sure to eat properly, exercise regularly, and take your medicines.
- Don’t isolate yourself when you are grieving. Try to do things to stay busy.
- Joining a support group helps in many ways. Talking and learning with others in the same situation has many benefits. The Grief Care Place in Stow has many groups to choose from!
Always remember, there is no shame in grieving. If you are grieving, allow yourself to experience it. It’s a cleansing time for you. Holding it in and covering it up will lead to other physical ailments for you.
If you see someone grieving, support them at this time in their lives. Showing them, you care and are not going to discount them for what they are feeling means more to them than you will ever know. Although they may not express it, they will truly appreciate you for your support at this critical time in their life.
For a senior who is grieving the loss of a loved one, a move to Danbury Senior Living can be a great solution. When surrounded by new friends from similar situations, we learn we are not alone and find strength and comfort in the group!
To learn more about this topic, please join me and my friends from The Grief Care Place on Facebook Live for a chat about “The Grief Process.” Just click on any Danbury Facebook page on October 5 at 3 pm. This is an important topic and we will all learn a lot!
