(Continued …)

Some people will need #PhysicalAffection, to be #heard in their grief, #PracticalHelp or to be left alone. How do you know which to give? You ask. Which leads to knowing what sort of support you are able to give.

I am much better at practical help. I will pick up the flowers for the funeral, bring dinner, look after your kids. I am not good with the emotional help but sometimes we have to sit in our own #discomfort.

Holding someone while they cry can be extremely difficult. Listening to someone without inserting your own experiences isn’t easy.

And it can be hard to help someone else with their grief if we are also experiencing our own grief. This can often be the case with #families when a loved one dies. It’s ok to look after yourself before you look after someone else but mutual support is the best kind of support.

In the end, grief is very personal and we often don’t want to intrude on someone else’s grief because of our own experience, but offer anyway.