Southern Oregon Friends of Hospice
Supporting end of life care programs
Grief
Grief is a natural, normal response to a loss. It is how we think and feel inside when someone we love dies. When someone we care about dies, our journey begins and grief is the path we must travel. Everyone’s grief experience is uniquely their own. There is no road map that tells us how to grieve.
Common Grief Experiences
- Having a sense of shock
- Confusion or disbelief
- Feeling empty or numb
- Physical effects such as nausea, loss of energy or difficulty sleeping
- Feelings of anger, anxiety, guilt, sadness and loneliness
Tasks of Grief
According to William Worden, there are four experiences that we go through after the death of someone we care about.
- To accept that the death is real and that the person is not coming back.
- To allow ourselves to experience the pain of grief.
- To adjust to a new life where the deceased person is missing.
- To reinvest energy in life and form a new type of relationship with the deceased based on memory.
Mourning
Mourning is when we let our thoughts and feelings go outside so others can know what we are experiencing. It is our public expression of what we feel and it is essential in our healing process.
Source:
Marty Hogan, L. M. (2009). Anticipatory Grief. Ashland: Sacred
Vigil Press.
Marty Hogan, L. M. (2012). Tears in My Heart: A Guide to Helping Children
and Teens During Times of Loss and Grief. Ashland: Sacred Vigil
Press.
Contact Us
Southern Oregon
Friends of Hospice
P.O. Box 1182
Ashland, Oregon 97520
Phone: 541-488-7805
Hospice Unique Boutique (HUB) website
HUB Calendar of Events [PDF]
