Forever Remembered Pet Cremation and Memorial Services

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Let it go

It's not easy being a funeral director, especially when families are dealing with the loss of a loved one. Often the grief that is experienced for a pet is the same if not more than what is experienced for a human. I am often struggling as to how to help ease the hurt without sounding cliché or insincere.

There is no "normal grief experience." Some may not grieve until weeks later when the shock of the whole ordeal begins to wear off and the reality of the loss hits like a ton of bricks. Some may be able to grieve for a short time while others may take years to not cry at the very thought of the event.

Grief comes in many forms and no matter what type of psychological label it is given, the reality is that it hurts. How a person grieves should not be up for scrutiny but rather accepted as indicative of his or her own personal grief response mechanism.

Our American culture has conditioned us to grieve in a socially acceptable manner that does not intrude upon the perimeter of another person's space. Grieving in the closet where mournful tears of sadness are kept behind closed doors is that which the American society accepts as the norm. When loud cries of loss are heard across the room our attention is often taken to the place where we are made to feel uncomfortable and may even have to leave the room in order to gather our prudent, stoic countenance.

I challenge those with this mentality to refrain from placing judgement on those who may not have the "normal grief response."

Let it go.


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