28 NOVEMBER 1, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
COPING WITH DEATH
Create a journal to help ease pain
Creating a journal helps to ease
A symbol of hope.
A symbol of help.
Michaels Funeral Home, Inc.
79-22 Metropolitan Avenue
Middle Village, NY 11379
(718)894-5500
Visit us at Michaelsfuneralhome.com
Like us on Facebook
Hess-Miller Funeral Home
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
ANTHONY J. MARTINO, Lic. Mgr.
DAVID L. MARTINO, Director
Owned By Martino F.H., Inc. Since 1982
1-718-821-6660 or 1-800-479-6419
Serving Ridgewood, Maspeth,
Middle Village & Glendale
������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
����������������������������������������������������������������������
������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
64-19 Metropolitan Ave., Middle Village, N.Y.
www.hessmillerfuneralhome.com
grief because it provides a safe
place where you are free to
express your deepest thoughts and
feelings about your life loss.
At this unhappy time, it is normal
for grieving people to feel helpless and
out of control.
According to Linda Cherek, a member
of the National Catholic Ministry
to the Bereaved’s Board of Trustees,
telling the story of your relationship
with the lost loved one in a journal
will help to calm these emotions.
Through writing, we can express
our ideas and feelings about the death,
and look inward to identify and consider
our strengths, areas for growth
and coping mechanisms.
Cherek offers some thoughts on
getting started on using journaling
as a part of the grieving process:
Find writing materials that appeal
to you -- a bound book, a spiral notebook,
or loose sheets.
Create a special place to write. Make
it comfortable and inviting.
Set aside time to write. Julia Cameron
in The Artist’s Way suggests getting
up a half hour earlier each day (while
your brain is still free of the cares of
the day ahead) and write three pages
-- whatever comes into your head.
Don’t worry about punctuation, spelling
or grammar. If you can’t think of anything
to write, just write, “I can’t think of
anything to write” over and over. Oft en,
your innermost feelings will emerge.
Your journal listens without judgment.
Consider some questions to focus
your writing. Are there unresolved
problems or questions about your relationship
with the loved one who died?
What has the experience of their death
been like for you? What am I going to
do without their physical presence?
What do I want to remember? What
have I learned about myself?
Consider writing a letter to your
loved one -- what it has been like since
their death, or what you want your life
to be like in the years ahead.
Cherek adds that writing out
our losses is a method of therapy:
“The word therapy comes from the
Greek word therapei which means
the kind of attention one gives the
sacred.
The way our life was connected
with that of our loved one is a sacred
story of the unique journey we walked.
Keeping a journal is one valuable way
to honor that journey.”
Courtesy of NYS Funeral
Directors Association
/www.hessmillerfuneralhome.com
