Helping a Loved One Through Difficult Times

When someone close to you is going through a tough time, you may want more than ever to show your love and support. Yet sometimes at their most trying times, loved ones may appear to pull away from you. How do you balance your urge to show how much you care with your desire to respect your loved one’s need for space and time to grieve or process their loss? In this workshop we’ll explore the difficulties that people in this position face, and discuss what you can do and, importantly, what you should not do in these situations.

At the end of the workshop you will be able to:
Describe ways to deal with feelings of helplessness:
• Recognize that the feeling is normal
• Practice positive self talk to overcome feeling helpless
Identify the stages people go through when dealing with grief or other difficult times:
• Describe what your loved one is likely to experience so that you are not surprised
• Describe the emotions that often set in for the “caregiver” in situations where a loved one is experiencing a
difficult time
• Describe “do’s and don’ts” for helping a loved one through difficult times