unimportant or trivial. Special Dates
Anniversaries, holidays, and birthdays often trigger reminders of the death or absence of your loved one. Perhaps the most significant and most difficult anniversary is that of their death. The annual date or even week or month may cause anticipatory anxiety and can contribute to renewed grief for victims and survivors. Special dates can be triggers that bring about painful thoughts and emotions. The first anniversary will most likely be the most painful. Other annual celebrations, such as birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Mother’s/Father’s Day will continue to take place year after year. In the past these times of joy brought your family together. Now and forever they will trigger memories of your loved one. Today these special dates will be difficult, but later will provide you with reasons to reminisce and begin new rituals. Planning ahead for holidays and birthdays not only allows you to prepare for those events, but also provides ongoing and open communication between family members. Future Losses Mourning the loss of all of the possibilities that could have been if your loved one was still alive is something that most people Special dates can be triggers that bring about painful memories or emotions.
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