Grieving Healthfully
When people are grieving, often the last thing they were thinking about is their own health. Losing a loved one is a traumatic event, and trying to find comfort in that can lead to unhealthy actions.
Grief support is one of the cremation services in Roanoke, VA that can help people who've lost a loved one go through the grieving process in a healthy way. Health can be physical, mental, or emotional. Taking care of these three aspects of our health when we are grieving is critical to our long-term well-being.
It is common in the first few days or weeks after we lose a loved one to have our worlds, our routines, and our lives turned upside down. As family comes and immediately after the death, our sleep schedules and other parts of our normal routine get disrupted.
We may stay up too late, get too little sleep, and eat at odd times during the days that follow the death of a loved one.
Unless friends and neighbors drop off enough food to keep us nourished during those first few days, we may find ourselves relying exclusively on fast food, on caffeine and sugar-laden drinks, and on sugary or high carb foods. We also may not stay hydrated enough, foregoing water for a lot of sodas, coffee, and tea.
We also may find that we're drinking more alcohol during this period of time, in part because that's a social thing to do with family and in part because alcohol can have a numbing effect on emotional pain.
All of this can lead to physical fatigue. We may find that in the middle of the day we're just exhausted, and it feels like we can't do one more thing. That's the body's way of telling us that it's not getting its nutritional needs met.
The best thing that we can do during the immediate days after we lose a loved one is to make sure that we are taking care of our physical health. Try to eat lots of fruits, lots of vegetables, adequate protein, with relatively few carbohydrates. This will keep our physical engines running in top-notch condition. Try to drink at least 64 ounces of water daily to stay hydrated.
We need enough sleep. It can be very difficult to sleep after a loved one dies, especially if it's spouse because were used to having the other person with us when we're sleeping. However, we should make every effort to get in bed early enough to be able to relax and then go to sleep and aim for at least seven hours of sleep. Turn the TV off, put the smart phone and tablet on the opposite side of the room, and have the room completely dark.
It may take a few nights to get into a healthy sleep routine, but good sleep will calm. Being well rested is going to be critical to handling all the stress, the decision-making, and the path forward after the loss of a loved one.
After family leaves to go back to their houses and their lives, it's important to maintain healthy eating habits and healthy sleep habits. It's really best to try to avoid getting to sleep especially with prescription drugs or alcohol.
Prescription drugs can be addictive if they are used for long period of time. Alcohol, on the other hand, may seem like a safer alternative to get sleep. However, although alcohol may at first bring on sleep, the sleep is not restful nor does it last the entire night.
For additional information about healthy grieving and cremation services in Roanoke, VA, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lynch Conner-Bowman Funeral Home can assist you. You can visit our funeral home at 140 Floyd Ave., Rocky Mount, VA, 24151, or you can call us today at (540) 483-5533.
