According to experts, two years, one month and four days is the average amount of time it takes for someone to feel better after losing a loved one.  While grieving will never be an easy process, talking about bereavement can have a huge impact on how long it takes for a person to feel more positive after the loss. Sue Ryder from British hospice charity said that there are many people who tend to bottle up their feelings. Unfortunately, the charity found through their survey that one in six people said they felt like no one knew what they were going through. To learn more, click here.

Today, more and more families are using social media to deal with the loss of their friends and loved ones. Apart from families, funeral homes are also starting to hop on the social media bandwagon. Fullerton Funeral Home in Mason City is utilizing Twitter and Facebook to help families share news of a loved one’s passing.  According to Alyssa Fullerton, Director of Fullerton Funeral Home, one of the most common forms of grieving in social media is creating remembrance pages. People usually create these pages to promote fundraisers and memorials of their loved ones who passed away. To learn more, check this link.

Any loss is painful, be it of a family member, friend, spouse, anyone. However, for girls, the loss of a father can be at a different level, especially when they feel like they’ve missed out on many milestones together and if they’ve lost their dad early. Writer Sasha Bronner is one of those girls who lost their dad early in life. She lost her father when she was just 2 years old and most of her “memories” of him were through the stories of others. Understandably, this loss is a sensitive topic. In an article on Huffpost, she writes about some of the things you should never say to a woman who has lost her father. “Don’t tell me that my wedding will still be nice and that he’ll be there in spirit.” “Don’t bring up the term “daddy issues”

A funeral is not like many other types of gatherings. But, while a bereaved may usually find herself not in the right state to entertain and strike engaging conversations with funeral guests, there are still a couple of funeral etiquette pointers to remember: Wear clean, appropriately conservative, and comfortable clothing. First row or two of seats or pews are usually reserved for the immediate family of the person who died. Be prepared to say hello to people at the funeral but don’t feel pressured to have a lengthy conversation with everyone who came. Be prepared for some people to say things to you that may feel insensitive, or for people to bring up inappropriate or sensitive topics. Keep in mind that many people have trouble finding the words to express how they feel so don’t feel bad if you keep

Co-operaive Funeralcare, together with CHUMS the Child Bereavement, Trauma and Emotional Wellbeing service, created a DVD series with the following titles: ‘Our Year Since Mum Died’, ‘Our Year Since Dad Died’, ‘Our Year Since Gran Died’ and ‘Our Year Since Grandad Died’. They are all designed to help children cope with bereavement. The DVD depicts the first year following the death of a loved one, and how different people respond to bereavement in their own manners. If you are interested to know more about the said DVD series, click here.

Depression can root from many things — often they involve loss. It’s signs include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness and guilt, deviation from normal sleeping habits, difficulties in concentrating, among others. Trying to address with the problem on one’s own is not the best way to deal with depression. Instead, an individual undergoing depression is advised to develop a social support network of friends, family and professionals to assist  and guide him through recovery. To learn more, click here.

The death of a husband is more than just the loss of a lifelong partner. It means saying good-bye to the love of your life; your best friend; and your confidant. Recent widows would wish that there was a manual that they could follow which leads to fast and easy recovery. But sadly, there isn’t. Jan Robinson wrote “Tips from Widows” following the death of her husband. Through her book, she hopes to impart wisdom to widows who are searching for inspirations. To learn more about “Tips from Widows”, click here.

For many people, losing a beloved pet is just as difficult as bidding good-bye to a dear relative or friend. Sandra Grossman, a therapist with the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (APLB), states that grieving is an essential part of recovering from any kind of loss, and one that should not be avoided or suppressed. “It’s OK to grieve. There’s no timeline. You get through this one, you get through this,” says Grossman. To learn more, check out an article from ABC7 — click here.

Losing a loved one can be painful enough and you don’t need more issues popping up to make the situation more stressful than it already is. Unfortunately for some Arkansas residents who trusted a funeral home to give their loved ones a dignified burial, they won’t be able to get peace of mind soon. The funeral home they entrusted was shut down due to mishandled bodies which meant they were halted from making burial contracts. This left families whose loved ones’ remains weren’t taken care of yet confused as to what would happen. One of those people who paid the company hundreds of dollars for their services is Shelia Hagerty from Ashdown. She’s still waiting to hear what’s to become of the remains of her 84-year-old mother. “My concern is that I am not going to get paid back, and I

When you trust a funeral home to take care of the remains of a loved one, you feel assured that they will provide dignity and respect. However, a funeral home in Providence is every family member’s nightmare. Bodies have been found by authorities to be unattended and decomposing. According to an article on ABCNews, “The Providence Journal reports that the Health Department released information showing that of the nine decomposed bodies discovered in the investigation of Pennine Funeral Home, eight have been identified and buried or cremated with the voluntary help of four funeral homes.” “The medical examiner says all eight died of natural causes between 2001 and 2013,” the report adds. Authorities are still unsure as to why the remains have been left uncared for all around the funeral home. It has also been found out that the funeral