Monthly Archives: May 2023

Cremation services Mentor, OH

Tips for Choosing a Grief Counselor in 2023

Cremation services Mentor, OH change your life. Often the pain of losing a loved one is too overwhelming to navigate yourself. No wonder, millions of people around the world seek professional support to see through the grief journey and come to normalcy.

But finding yourself a good counselor is not a simple task. With just a quick internet search, you’ll find plenty of grief counselors in your locality. Be sure not to choose the first person that you see in your “Google search.” Take your time as this decision influence your life for many months to come.

What is Grief Counseling?

Grief counseling is a form of psychotherapy that helps people cope with the effects of a major loss. It can be losing a loved one, a pet, your job, or anything. But here, we will talk about coping with the loss of an important person in life.

People who find themselves struggling with the physical, emotional, social, or responses to losing a loved one prefer hiring the services of a grief counselor. These people are trained to help you process what has happened and identify what you are experiencing.

Based on your specific personality and the nature of loss, they provide strategies that help you cope in the healthiest way possible. Here’s what they might discuss with you during sessions:

  • How you handled loss in the past
  • Discussing the loss of your loved one
  • The type of relationship you had with the deceased
  • Any unresolved issues between you might want to talk about

How to Choose a Grief Counselor

Focus on the below points to make sure you hire a perfect grief counselor:

1. Ask Relevant Questions

First, you have to make sure the grief counselor is experienced enough to understand your particular nature. You need to ask several questions to evaluate their professionalism. Don’t shy from asking questions like:

  • What type of experience does he/she have?
  • What license or certificate does he/she hold?
  • What techniques do they use?

A professional therapist will happily answer all these questions without having ire. Most importantly, the person should be transparent about his or her education, credentials, and experience.

2. They Must be Licensed

Never settle for a therapist who doesn’t have a degree. Becoming a therapist takes years of education and training to understand people’s specific nature and issues. To obtain a license, they need to submit proof of education and training as well as pass the state-recognized licensing exam.

So, a therapist having a license means they are well capable of helping you navigate through the grief journey. If they don’t have a license, don’t shy from saying NO and keep looking for a qualified therapist.

Cremation services Mentor, OHDoes Grief Counseling Work?

Mostly, yes. But it’s you, not the other way around, who has to do the major work. A therapist is there to listen and encourage you to face the challenge. They also provide useful insights, guidance, and even small tasks. But at the end of the day, you will need to do the work of mourning.

In short, therapy can be a powerful tool in your recovery after cremation services Mentor, OH.

funeral homes Mentor OH

Things to Avoid at a Funeral

A funeral at funeral homes Mentor, OH is an event where you need to be at the best of your behavior. You need to avoid certain things that might be considered in regular settings – but not in a funeral.

But often, it’s difficult to know what to avoid when we’re under stress. And that’s why we are here with a brief guide on what should you NOT do at a funeral service:

1. Avoid Showy Clothes

Never attend a funeral in shiny or too-showy clothes. It is a somber event that demands the utmost respect from all the guests. You are there to remember the deceased, not to make a fashion statement. Remember that this funeral is not about you.

Try to be as simple as possible. If confused, dress in black. What is appropriate funeral attire can vary on numerous factors, including the wishes of the deceased.

2. Avoid Taking Phone Calls Unless It’s Urgent

It’s best to switch off your phone during the funeral – or at least, turn down the volume. Listening to your call phone is often considered a disrespect to the deceased. It upsets the people near you.

In many funerals, organizers request people to turn their phones off before the service begins.

3. Avoid Laughing

Stating the obvious, you should avoid laughing at all costs during the service. No one expects you to break down in tears throughout the service, but laughing is not acceptable. It gives a message of disrespect and total disregard for the bereaved family and other guests.

It’s OK to enjoy a chat with people at a funeral and you might even have something amusing to share. But control your emotions and save the laughter for some other time.

4. Don’t Bring Uninvited Guests

It’s best to avoid bringing any guests with you to a funeral service unless they knew the deceased well. This service is extremely important for the bereaved family and a particular person’s presence might be upsetting for them.

If you still want to bring someone, it’s best to check first if you’re not sure.

5. Don’t Complain

Never complain about the proceedings of a funeral service. This is a stressful time for the family and they, of all people, want it to be perfect. If you think a particular service can be done better, then better keep the idea to yourself or wait until it’s the appropriate time.

Most people around you are very upset and it’s best to take their feelings into account as well.

funeral homes Mentor OH6. Don’t Yawn

If anything, funerals aren’t supposed to be fun and exciting. They can be long and boring for some guests. And you can feel too bored during the service to start yawning. Avoid it at all costs as somebody close to the deceased might take offense at seeing somebody yawn.

Be sure to keep yourself involved with the service to help prevent boredom from setting in. Generally, funerals are not very long, so you won’t have to spend hours holding back your tiredness at funeral homes Mentor, OH. Contact the professionals at Orlando-Donsante-Previte Funeral Home today.

funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH

Planning a Funeral Service of A Child

Should you plan a service at funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH? The question that no parent or caregiver would ever want to hear. Just the thought of arranging the funeral for a toddler gives overwhelming pain. But dealing with the final services of a child is an unfortunate reality that thousands of parents have to face every year.

At the same time, it’s also important to arrange the final services of a baby in a way that best honors the lost child as well as help parents cope with grief.

If you or your family member has to arrange a funeral for a baby, then consider the below tips to get started:

1. Choose the Funeral Type

First of all, decide whether you want a burial funeral, or cremation. Factors like family traditions and the opinions of your immediate family are going to affect this decision. But choose what best meets your needs and fits into your budget.

Depending on your choice, you’ll have to shop for a casket, for burial, or an urn for storing cremation ashes. Your funeral director also provides various options that fit your budget. You can personalize a casket or an urn with meaningful messages, images, or symbols.

2. Choose a Venue

After that, you’ll have to make after the death of your child is choosing what kind of service you want to arrange and how large. Most Christian families tend to host a traditional funeral in a church and invite close friends and family. While many prefer a more intimate and private gathering at a meaningful location to mourn the loss.

Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to grieve your lost child. Both memorial and funeral services are meant to honor your child with close ones and expedite the healing process.

3. Burial Clothing for the Child

Unless you’re barred by religious traditions, you can choose any clothing for the lost baby and additional personal items you want to be buried with them. Many parents tend to bury items like a blanket or a toy as a memento that the baby enjoyed or played with during life.

You can choose to bury family photos, hand-written letters of love, or hand-drawn pictures by siblings. Knowing your baby isn’t alone there is going to give your comfort and peace of mind.

funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH4. Additional Services You Should Consider

You can discuss with your funeral director about various options available to customize the funeral and make it more memorable.

Music: Playing popular music along with instrumental songs and traditional hymns can bring an element of emotion to the ceremony. However, listen to the lyrics carefully before finalizing your selection and if your ceremony is religious, talk with your religious leader and take them on board.

Readings: Almost all kinds of funerals, religious or not, include readings. In a religious ceremony, families choose to have scriptures and other excerpts from a religious text read by a member of the clergy or any friend or family member.

While in non-religious services at funeral homes Willoughby Hills, OH, people prefer to read poems, story passages, quotes, or even child songs.

Cremation services Willoughby Hills, OH

5 Stages Of Grief

Cremation services Willoughby Hills, OH put your loved one to rest, but can spark your grief. And worse, many of them are unprepared as our society does not teach about grief or how to process it in healthy ways.

Many studies have been done to understand the complicated grief journey and that’s where the five stages of the grief model came from. Developed by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, it is the most admirable blueprint that helps us understand the grieving process, which is:

  • Denial
  • Anger
  • Bargaining
  • Depression
  • Acceptance

Let’s get into the details.

1. Denial Stage

The first reaction to the loss of a loved one. Soon after you hear horrible news from a doctor or a relative, the denial stage kicks in. The person can’t believe that the loss has occurred and he or she goes like, “This can’t be happening to me.”

Note that denial is not just about rejecting the death of a loved one. It can manifest in many forms like saying, “I’m fine” despite getting overwhelmed by grief.

2. Anger Stage

Followed by denial is the anger phase when your mind starts accepting the harsh reality. You realize that the loved one has left this world forever and you can no longer “deny” or fight against the situation.

And there can be millions of things you can be angry at. Maybe you become angered at the doctors for not treating the patient properly or for not saying something to the loved one when you had a chance. Or you may even direct your anger towards God: “How could You allow this to happen?”

This phase is often short lasting and is immediately followed by bargaining.

3. Bargaining Stage

During this stage, the grieving person tries to bargain with God or himself and plead to bring back the loved one. You wish, pray, or hope that your loved one will be saved in exchange for something.

4. Depression Stage

Often, the depression starts soon after hearing about the loss. But it comes hard when you have accepted the loss and try to adapt to the new reality without the loved one.

It can trigger unexpected behavior and emotions as the person may become overwhelmed and feel hostile towards anyone in her circle. This is often the longest and most painful phase of the grief journey.

Cremation services Willoughby Hills, OH5. Acceptance Stage

The fifth and final stage in the Kubler-Ross model as you have finally come to terms with the loss. It can take a few weeks to several months or years to reach the acceptance stage. You realize that there is nothing you can do to stop it.

Remember that grief and pain are still there, and emotions from the other stages may still arise at times. But the intensity and occurrence of these painful feelings die down. You experience more moments of happiness than bouts of grief and depression.

At this stage, you begin to plan how you will move on with your life and achieve your goals after cremation services Willoughby Hills, OH.