Grief is a natural response to loss. It is the emotional response one feels when something or someone we love is taken away. The loss of a loved one is a life-changing event. Coping with the loss of a loved one is one of life’s biggest challenges. Sometimes the pain of that loss can be overwhelming. “Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve,” Earl Grollman.

At Tidelands Community Hospice, your community’s locally based not-for-profit hospice, we recognize feelings of loss and grief can be overwhelming. No adult or child in the communities we serve, Georgetown, Horry, and Williamsburg counties should be without comfort and support when grieving.

Our Bereavement Services are available, at no charge, to all adults and children, who are dealing with the loss of a loved one, regardless of the length of time or if the loved one was a patient of Tidelands Community Hospice and include:

• Support groups and workshops for all adults.
  
• Good Mourning Day Camp Programs for all children.
  
• Special programs and counseling at schools in the event of the death of a student, teacher, or a community tragedy or natural disaster.

• Hospice care not ending with the death of a patient. Families continue to receive monthly support letters and telephone calls up to one year after their loss.

The grieving process is highly individualized. Anne Morrow Lindberg summoned up the process as, “Grief can’t be shared. Everyone carries it alone; his own burden in his own way.”

• There is no right, wrong or “normal way” to grieve. The healing process can be gradual and at times feel like one step forward, two steps back. Some have described the process as hard work and a roller coaster ride on a journey to a new normal.

• It takes time, and there is no time limit. “Grief is not just a series of events, stages, or timelines. Our society places enormous pressure on us to get over a loss and to get through grief. But how long do you grieve for a husband of fifty years, a teenager killed in a car accident, a four-year-old child: a year? Five years? Forever? The loss happens in time, in fact in a moment, but its aftermath lasts a lifetime,” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a pioneer in near-death studies and the author of Death and Dying (1969) where she introduced the five stages of grief denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

It can, at times, be overwhelming. There are ways to cope with the pain and to come to terms with your grief.

• Understand that your grieving process is unique to you.

• Accept that grief can trigger many different and unexpected emotions.

• Acknowledge your pain; face and express your feelings.

• Seek support from people that care about you.

• Join a support group to share and validate your feelings with others who have also suffered a loss, to learn coping skills, and to receive comfort and support.

• The loss of a loved one is stressful and grief is experienced emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Taking care of yourself can help you as you go through the grieving process.

Tidelands Community Hospice’s Bereavement Services, Programs, Support Groups, and Workshops are possible thanks to the generosity of others. Visit tidelandshospice.org for additional information on its Bereavement Services including a listing of Support Groups.