I’ve been a Sacramento Wrongful Death attorney since 1982. Since I handle only personal injury cases, I’ve had occasion to see many families who have been suddenly confronted with the sudden death of a parent, a spouse, a child, a partner, a friend.
I see the deep pain and grief of my clients, but there’s no way that I, an outsider, can really experience it,
I do what I can. I feel bad for the families, the spouses, the parents of those who have died. Sometimes, I suggest books that can help. Some of these are: Some books that people have found useful are: How to Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies; Transforming Traumatic Grief; The Death of a Child; Grieving the Death of a Mother; and Lifetimes. Occasionally, I’ll hear of a modality such as Guided Imagery that people report to me are useful. ( A Meditation to Ease Grief and A Meditation to Help you Relieve Depression)
I’ve had many clients find solace in support groups and I’ve listed many of the ones I know of in another post.
Recently, I’ve heard reports of people skilled in helping people transverse the halls of grief. These people are called grief counselors. Many are LCSW’s (Licensed Clinical Social Workers) and a few are psychologists. All have in common long experience in helping people get thru these intense feelings that seem to overwhelm their lives.
I know a bit about grief. I’ve lost people and relationships important to me. I’ve wished I had another chance at a redo….to say goodbye to or to press the reset button.
I know that there are stages of grief, (I’ve read my Kubler-Ross) and I understand people grieve differently. I know certain dates such as Christmas, Mothers Day, Birthdays and anniversaries can bring grief to the fore.
Nonetheless, I’m an outsider. I meet with clients over minutes and hours not days and weeks.
I realize that there’s much I don’t know and much you who are experiencing grief should.
I will be contacting an experienced Grief Counselor for an interview in the near future. I’ll show him or her this blog, the limits of my knowledge and then interview him or her on what I don’t know and what I hope to soon share.
If you are in the midst of a deep loss, please breathe deeply. I know no-one can really take the pain away. But maybe at some level, there’s meaning to the tragedy that has befallen you.
I’m Ed Smith, founder of AutoAccident.com, A Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer since 1982.
Photo Attribution for above photo: Hard Thinking © Miroslav Vajdić / Attribution-NoDerivs / 2012-02-09 14:41:02