Healing After the Death of a Friend

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September 28, 2017
Edward Smith

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Healing After the Death of a Friend

I’m Ed Smith, a Lincoln Wrongful Death Lawyer. Losing someone that you love is a life-shattering event that can make you question everything – your purpose, your happiness, and everything in between. It’s never easy to say goodbye to a friend, especially when you never saw it coming. The process of healing after a friend passes away is not easy, but there are some choices we can make to alleviate our pain and revitalize our spirit during these dark times.

1. Go to the Memorial Service

Memorials are a social tradition that focus on honoring the life of an individual who has died. Attending these ceremonies allows the living to say their final goodbyes to the deceased. If the family of your friend decides to give them a funeral, try to go no matter how hard it may be. You can sit down next to their friends and family, and it may be comforting to see that you’re not the only one who is suffering with the loss. Going to the memorial will increase your awareness of how deeply loved your friend was, as well as provide you with the serenity of closure.

2. Take Some Time to Rest and Relax

Don’t go into this difficult situation with high expectations for yourself. You might feel crummy for a couple weeks, but it could also last a few months. In the meantime, be gentle with yourself and practice plenty of self-care: this includes sleep, exercise, eating well, and anything else that you genuinely enjoy. You should still have goals set out for each day, but they can be incredibly simple – take a shower, get dressed, eat three full meals. Taking it easy after a friend’s death is completely acceptable, and even recommended for anyone who was really hit hard by the death.

3. Cherish the Fond Memories

Sharing positive memories and experiences you had with your friend can be a cathartic release for you and those close to your friend. Reliving the good times you had is an important aspect of honoring the relationship you grew together. Reminiscing can help you cope with your grief while still feeling close to the deceased person, and retaining the good memories reminds us that friendship can live on even after death.

4. Redefine Your Life

The time that immediately follows after a death can be a sensitive period for most people. It can also elicit internal contemplation, causing people to ponder their purpose in life. Sometimes, the sudden death of a loved one evokes a heightened level of awareness about ourselves. One of the most liberating things you can do in this time is decide who you want to be while moving forward, and what you need to change about yourself to get there. Let the rough times in life inspire you to live life fully and never take a moment for granted – our time here is already so temporary as it is.

More topics by Lincoln Wrongful Death Lawyer, Ed Smith:

Lincoln Wrongful Death Lawyer

I’m Ed Smith, a Lincoln Wrongful Death Lawyer. I have 35 years of experience as a personal injury and wrongful death lawyer for Lincoln, California. If you or your family has ever suffered an immense tragedy due to a wrongful death, my deepest condolences go out to you. You may reach out to me at (916) 921-6400 for free, friendly legal advice. You can also dial the toll-free number (800) 404-5400.

Client ratings can help give you an opinion about which lawyer is right for you. My reviews from past clients can be found below:

I belong to the California Chapter of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a selective forum that acknowledges the top trial lawyers that have obtained settlements or verdicts of a million dollars or more.

I am the founder of autoaccident.com, where you can check out more legal resources and information about my practice. You can look at my past verdicts and settlements page here.

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Image Attribution: Author 5688709 via Pixabay. Licensed under the Creative Commons CC0.

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