* I wish you would not be afraid to speak my loved one's
name. They lived and were important and I need to hear their name.
* If I cry and get emotional if we talk about my loved one,
I wish you knew that it isn't because you hurt me: the fact that
they died causes my tears. You have allowed me to cry and I
thank you. Crying and emotional outbursts are healing
* I will have emotional highs and lows, ups and downs. I
wish you wouldn't think that if I have a good cry my grief is all
over, or that if I have a bad day I need psychiatric counseling.
* Being Bereaved is not contagious, so I wish you wouldn't
stay away from me.
* I wish you knew all the "crazy" grief reactions that I am
having are in fact very normal. Depression, anger, fear,
hopelessness and a questioning of values and beliefs are to be
expected following a death.
* I wish you wouldn't expect my grief to be over in 6
months. The first few years are going to be exceedingly
traumatic for me. As with alcoholics, I will never be "cured" or
a "formerly bereaved", but forevermore be recovering from my
bereavement.
* I wish you understood the physical reaction to grief. I
may gain weight, lose weight, sleep all the time or not at all,
develop a host of illnesses and be accident prone, all of which
are related to my grief.
* Our loved one's birthday, the anniversary of their death
and the holidays can be terrible times for us. I wish you could
tell us that you are thinking of us and them on these days. And
if we get quiet and withdrawn, just know that we are thinking
about them and don't try to coerce us into being cheerful.
* I wish your wouldn't offer to take me out for a drink, or to
a party, this is a temporary crutch and the only way I can
get through this grief is to experience it. I have to hurt
before I can heal.
* I wish you understood that grief changes people. I am not
the same person I was before my beloved died and I will never be
that person again. If you keep waiting for me to "get back to my
old self" you will stay frustrated. I am a new creature with new
thoughts, dreams, aspirations, values and beliefs. Please try to
get to know this different me -- I'm the one who'll be here from
now on.
--Author unknown