For many, the holiday season is a merry time filled with family traditions and festive celebrations. We gather to share our joy. But for those who have lost a loved one, the holidays can seem overwhelming, and they may feel themselves beyond the reach of joy.
HCI Hospice Care Services offers these four tips for coping with grief at the holidays:
1. There’s no right way or wrong way to celebrate the holiday season after the death of a loved one.
- Plan ahead.
- Set realistic expectations for yourself and the holidays.
2. Tell others what you can handle and how you would like to celebrate the holiday season.
- Allow others to help with the holiday responsibilities.
- Scale back your holiday events and traditions.
3. Talk about your feelings and needs.
- Take care of yourself – mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually.
- Join a support group. Support groups are available free of charge through HCI Hospice Care Services and many places of worship.
4. Remember your loved one throughout the holiday season.
- Share memories of your loved one.
- Light a candle in honor of your loved one.
- Make a tree ornament for your loved one.
Grief support groups and one-on-one conversations with bereavement counselors can be helpful if you have suffered a loss. For more information about hospice care services, contact your local HCI Hospice Care Services office at 515-465-4705 or visit the HCI Hospice Care Services website.
Beginning in January, HCI Hospice Care Services will be offering a new educational grief support group, Understanding Your Grief, using material from Dr. Alan Wolfelt and the Center for Loss and Life Transition.
Understanding Your Grief will meet weekly for eight weeks and participants will receive a copies of Dr. Wolfelt’s book “Understanding Your Grief” and “The Understanding Your Grief Journal.”
Groups will learn about Dr. Wolfelt’s 10 essential touchstones for finding hope and healing through loss. These touchstones include dispelling the misconceptions about grief, embracing the uniqueness of your grief and understanding the six needs of mourning.
Understanding Your Grief groups will be offered three times a year through local HCI Hospice Care Services offices. Pre-registration will be required as seats for each group are limited. Please
For more information or to register for a group, contact your local HCI Hospice Care Services’ bereavement counselor at 515-465-4705 or visit the HCI Hospice Care Services website.
