For many people, the pain of loss can be isolating, whether someone we love has just passed away, or we are experiencing anticipatory grief. But grief can also bring us together in many ways. Here are some ways that grief can help you build stronger connections with those around you.

1. Grief reminds you to be in the present, and live fully. First of all, grief has a tendency to connect us with the time and the place we are in. As we focus on loss, we become more aware of what we still have, including the loved ones who are still with us. Grief also reshapes our realities. As it does, you may find it easier to step out of your routines or grasp opportunities you normally would bypass.
2. This is a time to share memories with loved ones. While grieving a shared loss, family members and friends can come together to explore their memories of their loved one. During anticipatory grief, the loved one may also participate in this sharing.
3. Grief can push people to work through past resentments. Death and loss tend to bring other things into perspective, which can seem smaller by comparison. If you are harboring old resentments, you may feel a pull to work through them, especially if you are running out of time with a loved one. Having the chance to do this can be emotionally healing for both of you.
4. We can sometimes forge new friendships, or renew old ones. As you join together with family and friends to confront grief, you may find yourself renewing old bonds that you have let slip away over the years. You might also meet new friends through support groups, forums or social networking sites who also are dealing with grief and loss. Sometimes they can even become friends for life.
5. We can connect through how we process grief and heal. Every person’s experience of grief is unique. As a result, there are numerous ways to cope with grief, process it, and heal through it. That means you can sometimes discover some amazing connections even in deeply painful circumstances. Nothing will ever make the loss of a loved one less painful, but it may be easier to cope with if you connect with others who heal and process in similar ways to you. You might even end up building or exploring beautiful things together (i.e. creating collaborative works of art, or sharing spiritual practices) that celebrate your loved ones.

Golden Rule Hospice Supports Patients and Their Loved Ones

While you can find and create healing moments within grief, nearing the end of a loved one’s life can be very difficult. That is why along with providing dignified and compassionate care to patients, we also offer grief counseling services to their loved ones. To find out how we can help your loved one and your family, please give us a call at (470) 395-6567. We offer hospice care throughout the Atlanta area.

When your loved one has dementia and has received a six-month terminal diagnosis, they will be eligible for hospice care. By the time this happens, they may be having difficulty walking or speaking, may show a lot of anxiety, or may no longer be able to take care of themselves at all.

Hospice is provided mostly at the patient’s own home and can do a lot to help patients with dementia and their caregivers. Here are some of the benefits of your loved one starting hospice care.

1. Care for complications of dementia. There is a link between dementia and increased pain. Dementia can also lead to complications such as injuries, infections, malnutrition and insomnia. Hospice workers can provide hospice care for the symptoms of dementia and complications of the disease, increasing your loved one’s comfort.
2. Daily life assistance. Right now, you probably are the one providing most of the daily assistance your loved one needs. When your loved one enters hospice care, an experienced and dedicated staff can contribute to daily life assistance.
3. Safety. Dementia patients who can walk may be prone to wandering off. They may also be more prone to slips, falls and injuries. Hospice staff can give helpful information to increase your loved one’s safety.
4. Company for your loved one. Staff and volunteer can help keep your loved one with company. This can be very important for the wellbeing of dementia patients.
5. Emotional and psychological support. It is common for dementia patients to experience heightened anxiety as well as depression. Hospice provides care not just for the body, but also for the mind. We can provide the support that your loved one needs to feel calmer throughout the day.
6. Relief for primary caregivers. Caring for a patient with dementia involves a lot of work and can be physically and emotionally taxing. As the dementia progresses and the patient loses more and more function, caregivers’ risk for burnout increases.

Hospice helps to relieve some of the burden on caregivers, making daily care for the patient easier and more manageable. Caregivers who need a break can also avail themselves of respite care. During respite care, the patient is placed in an inpatient facility for up to 5 consecutive days. Caregivers can then take those days to rest and recharge or catch up on other obligations.

Simply knowing you are no longer alone in providing care to your loved one can also provide some relief. Further, hospice gives counseling to family and friends of patients as well as patients themselves. So, that is yet another way we can support you.

Find Out How We Can Help Your Loved One

To learn all of the ways we can help your loved one with dementia to experience less pain and more comfort and dignity during the end-of-life period, please give us a call at (470) 395-6567. We care for dementia patients and their families throughout the Atlanta area.

Hospice inevitably involves grief. Whether you are losing someone you love or you are the one approaching the end of your own life, you will be working through a challenging emotional reality.

Grief can be confusing and scary, especially if this is your first big loss. Below are some things that are helpful to know.

1. Grief can start before a loss. Many people assume grief begins after someone dies. But it can start well before someone dies. This is called “anticipatory grief.” One can even grieve one’s own end of life.
2. Everyone experiences and processes grief differently. Grief is a deeply individual experience, even though there are some common themes. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to experience it or cope with it.
3. Guilt can accompany grief. Many people are caught off guard by sudden feelings of guilt when someone dies. They may worry they did not do enough, or struggle with unresolved matters from earlier in the relationship. This is a normal reaction to death, and there are ways one can ease or release the guilt they may feel.
4. Grief can shake your beliefs. When you lose someone you love, it can alter your reality so deeply that closely cherished beliefs may waver or fail, causing existential doubts.
5. You cannot measure grief. People may sometimes try to measure or compare grief for different losses. But grief is unquantifiable. There is no single type of relationship grief is always “worse” for.
6. You may be worn out physically, and emotionally. Grief can be surprisingly exhausting physically, and emotionally. You may have a difficult time keeping up with your everyday tasks.
7. Transformation is possible through grief. Losing a loved one is terrible, but it may surprise you that grief offers opportunities for transformation. While that does not lessen the loss, you may find yourself reassessing priorities or exploring a new direction in your life.

We Can Help Your Family During Hospice

We can provide you and your loved ones with support through this challenging time of grief. To find out more about we can help, please give us a call at (470) 395-6567. We care for patients and their families throughout the Atlanta area.