The Impact of Grief on the Family
- Every person’s grief is a unique and personal experience. No two people in the same family will grieve in the same manner. There is no “right” way
to grieve.
- Each member of the family is entitled to their own feelings, even if they are different from the feelings
of others in the family.
- Grief is an all-consuming experience. It is often hard to see past our own pain. Family members
must remember that EVERYONE is hurting.
- All family members should be encouraged to seek support. Many times this support will come from persons
outside of the family.
- Special care should be paid to the needs of children when someone in the family is ill or dies. They
grieve differently than adults and should be given permission to grieve as kids.
- Our loved ones fill many different roles within the family. Some of these roles are obvious such as spouse, parent, sibling. Other roles such as, peacemaker, organizer of family gatherings, family problem-solver, Mr. Fix-it, etc. are not so obvious. When someone dies we lose the contributions they made to the family through their various roles. Many times a “vacuum” may
exist while the family attempts to re-organize without this person. This may require extra patience and understanding
on everyone's part.
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