How a Local Funeral Home Can Help You Cope with Grief

When someone you loved has passed away, you may now be faced with the most difficult, but most important need to mourn. You are unique in the way you handle life and in the way you handle death. Just as all your fingerprints are distinctive from the next person, how you express feelings of love and loss will be different as well.

Handling grief is not specific. You may be expressive or you may mourn quietly. It may be related to your culture, personality or a variety of other reasons; however, the important issue is that you must mourn. Mourning shows your capacity to love. Therefore it is a necessary ingredient in accepting the death of a loved one that you allow a release of emotions, which are indeed healthy and beneficial to your passionate state.

The funeral home you choose should be your comfort and support throughout your journey of loss and healing. They should be there every step of the way and totally committed in assisting you to cope and move forward in your life. There should be a full assurance throughout the process that does not end with the funeral ceremony, because your hardest time will no doubt come after the funeral. A caring funeral home will know and understand that the love, honor and respect you placed on your loved one in the past will continue after death because he or she will always be a part of you.

A quality funeral home may have a support network or grief counseling. They provide visitation or memorial services because it is a very large part of the grieving process and people tend to come together forming a supportive bond around you during these services.

But how do you know if you have chosen the right funeral home?

Well, you will know if you ask the right questions. Don’t be afraid to ask about cost, cremation, and services. Some of the answers you should be looking for will come from the questions you ask, such as:

Is there a difference between a memorial service and a funeral? A memorial service is actually given without the presence of a body and is in memorandum of the deceased. A funeral has the presence of a body.

Is there a reason given for the perceived high cost of a funeral? Actually, it isn’t high at all. Considering that it is a life event like a wedding, the cost is marginally low. Also to be deliberated is the amount of paperwork involved, the casket or urn chosen, embalming, cremation and services, dealing with physicians, florists and everything else necessary to make this specific event in your life easier. Even the employees of many funeral homes are well versed in what experts and psychologists in the field of grieving have discovered.

Sensitivity to denial, anger, and depression and finally acceptance to your loss should be a natural part of the funeral home you choose. Pamphlets and literature about the grieving process should be readily available as well.

All people experience grief stages differently and in no particular order. So your funeral home should be well equipped to relate to your need of comfort and the respect you and your loved one deserves.