Bereavement Services
Compassionate Care Throughout the Hospice Experience
Hospice Services of Southwest General cares about how you are coping and
provides bereavement support throughout the hospice experience and beyond.
Grief Often Begins With a Diagnosis
While your journey is most likely filled with hard work, loneliness and
sadness, please know that there is someone at Southwest General's Hospice
Services who would like to hear your story and offer support. This service
is free of charge and includes:
- Individual support
- Grief Club support group
- "Healthy Grief," a six-week series support group
- Annual "Service of Remembering"
Reactions to Loss
Everyone reacts differently to a loss. Some common reactions may include:
- Feeling overwhelmed by all the changes and emotions
- A physical emptiness
- Fatigue
- A need to tell and retell the story of your loved one
- Feeling as though this death cannot be real
- Crying at unexpected times
- Feeling as though no one will ever understand your loss
- Guilt
Caring for Yourself
Caring for yourself is vital, even if you do not feel up to it. Consider
these suggestions as you enter this time of grief:
-
Life is no longer normal. Remember that not everyone around you will understand this.
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Be patient with yourself and try not to overextend yourself. Your energy level and thinking process are probably not what they once were.
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Accept your feelings. You will be experiencing feelings that may not be normal for you because
you are grieving. What is normal for grief is different than what is normal for you.
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Ask for and accept help. It is hard to do, but it is important to allow others to be useful.
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Find someone with whom you can talk freely about your relationship with your loved one.
Caring for the Family
Your family is vital to your support and you are vital to them during this
time of need.
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Communication is vital to the family coping with grief. Each person is dealing with a very different loss and each person has
different needs. Communicate and be flexible with each other.
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As holidays or special days approach, discuss together the different needs
that each person brings to the day. Be open to the fact that not everyone will be able to celebrate or remember
in the same way.
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Do not protect each other from grief. Talk about it.
-
Allow people to change their minds, even at the last minute.
Bereavement Support and Education
Support and education are available to you. These services are free of
charge for families of hospice patients. Bereavement support services
are available during the illness process and after your loss. If you wish
to speak to the bereavement staff during the illness, contact your nurse
or call the Bereavement Office at
440-816-5019. You will hear from our bereavement staff following your loss. If you
want to talk before the staff contacts you, please feel free to call.
We Know That Making the First Call Can Be Difficult
You already may feel too vulnerable to take another risk. It is important
to receive support and know that you are important enough to be cared
for. That is why we are here. We mail out a quarterly bereavement newsletter,
and twice a year, in the spring and fall, we host a "Service of Remembering."
You will receive an invitation to the service.
If you have questions about the service or any of our offerings, please call
440-816-5019. Take advantage of the support groups we offer.