Death is unavoidable, yet we keep it at arm’s length. We know it is going to happen, but we don’t want to let it in. The purpose of the Living with Loss series is to help people feel more comfortable talking about and exploring issues related to death. This lesson highlights self-care and managing grief. Talking about self-care and how to manage grief is important because it helps people learn how to adjust and keep on living after a loved one has died. When grief is properly processed, coping and healing can result.

To help people better take care of themselves and manage grief, the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Carroll County taught the five-week series, “Living with Loss: Self-care and managing grief.”  Eight participants attended the program, and six completed a post-lesson evaluation. Of these, six reported that the lesson helped them better understand the grief experience for themselves or others. Five reported that they learned various ways to work through grief. Five reported that they learned how to manage grief triggers. Six participants reported that the lesson taught them how to better take care of themselves (or others) during times of grief. Three reported learning the benefits of grief journaling and two reported learning the benefits of bereavement support groups. In summary, this lesson increased six participants’ overall understanding about the importance of self-care and managing grief.   

All the participants were white and ranged in age from 63-80.  Seven participants were women. 

Participants attended this lesson because they had lost someone to death in the last three years.

A valuable lesson participants learned was the benefit of being with like-minded individuals who could relate to one another along their grief journey. Many of the participants stated they felt comfortable discussing their feelings in the group and did not feel judged.