Widows Quest

Combating Grief After Losing Your Spouse

by anna on June 12th, 2008

In an article called Combating Grief After the Loss of a Spouse over at Health News there is some interesting statistics

• A Finnish study that appeared in the May 2008, online edition of the American Journal of Public Health, noted that the risk of entering a long-term care facility is almost three times as likely for both men and women after the death of a spouse than it is for a person still living with their spouse.
• The risk of needing long-term care assistance after the death of a spouse was highest during the first month of bereavement.
• A Harvard study..suggests that increasing social integration may play an important role in our efforts to protect ourselves from memory decline. The study of 16,638 Americans, 50 and older, took over six years, and concluded that memory loss in people with the strongest social networks declined at a rate that was less than half of the decline of those who had the fewest social connections.

Grief affects people differently, however these medical studies show that grief is something that can really affect your health. I know that for instance since Dad died, I speak to my mum each day, I encourage her to get involved in local community activities. When I travel home, we never stay in…I take her out into social situations to encourage her to find the courage to interact with other people.

In handing our own grief, sometimes the best thing to do is to support others in their grief. By giving love, support….I find that helps my own bereavement.

Do you?                                                                                               {istockphoto}

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