• Let creativity come through in music, poetry and photography. • Reaching out and helping others can be good therapy. • Read, meditate and try to understand your faith. 4. WHAT IS COMPLICATED GRIEF? Complicated grief is the usual process of grief complicated by other issues. Many factors influence how an individual will grieve. Some people, in addition to grieving the loss of someone, will also be coping with: • severe depression • drug or alcohol dependency or both
• a history of mental illness • developmental disabilities • chronic health problems • history of sexual or physical abuse • suicidal history and/or plans • multiple or other unresolved losses.
SIGNS OF COMPLICATED GRIEF Some signs of grief are quite subtle, such as simply not eating or sleeping or being edgy or overreacting to small or minor annoyances. These may just be normal responses to grief or they may signal that the person has some underlying issues that are getting in the way of normal grieving. Other signs are less subtle. Drinking too much can be a sign of complicated grief as can saying things like “I wish I could die”. Statements like this should not be taken lightly. It’s best to talk to the person about it to see whether this statement is a suicide threat. One approach can be to ask the person how they would do this (i.e. die). If it appears that he/she has a plan, then get professional help, as soon as possible. If it is an emotional response to their pain and loss, then active listening and continued support should help. Volunteers should keep their supervisor and team aware of any signs of complicated grief. SIGNS THAT PEOPLE NEED PROFESSIONAL BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT People who are experiencing complicated grief need professional counseling and support. The following High Risk Bereavement Inventory is included in this manual,
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