Coping with Death: Overcoming Emotional Trauma

It is one of the sad certainties of life that each of us will experience death at some point. Likely, we will experience the deaths of others many times over before we have to face our own – the deaths of parents, grandparents, friends, brothers, sisters.

Perth Cremations was started by a family that experienced firsthand the trauma caused by the loss of a loved one – and the difficult financial problems that came with a loved one’s death.

Our journey inspired us to start a funeral home that put families above profits, providing as affordable a service as possible to families that might otherwise struggle to meet the often exorbitant financial costs involved in saying the final goodbye to a loved one.

Elizabeth Kübler-Ross was a Swiss psychiatrist who studied the grieving process in detail, and devised what she termed the ‘five stages’ of the grieving process.

Perth Cremations passes on the knowledge she learned to those currently going through the grieving process in the hope that it might provide some level of comfort in a trying time.

The Five Stages of Grief

Denial

A common first reaction for many when they first learn of the death of a loved one – whether it’s sudden or news that someone has only a few months left – is to deny the reality. Often, people cling to the hope that a diagnosis is mistaken, or that what they’ve heard can’t possibly be true.

Even if a person knows in their mind that it probably is true, the emotions often take a long time to catch up.

This is a normal response, and we should never lose patience with those expressing denial. Their denial is a reflection of how much the loved one means to them, and how they can’t possibly understand how their life could ever be the same without that special person.

Anger

Grief is often followed by a period of anger, and disbelief about the unfairness of life. We often look to point the finger at something for causing a misfortune, when in reality there is no one to blame.

Bargaining

People often then enter a period of bargaining, where they make promises to others, themselves, or to a higher person to reverse the misfortune in exchange for changing their behaviour.

Depression

Upon realising that bargaining will not work, people about to die or those who have lost a loved one will enter a period of depression, in which life seems pointless and not worth continuing.

Acceptance

The final stage is that of acceptance. In this stage people come to terms with the new normal, they are thankful for the memories and the laughter they’ve had, and realise that they will always have memories to treasure. Often a dying person will reach this stage before those around her or him, realising that it’s better to cherish the last days surrounded by friends and family while they still can.

We can never fully get over the loss of a loved one. But hopefully, we can reach a new normal.

Perth Cremations bring personal experience as well as professional experience to their funeral services, to ease the emotional and financial difficulties as best they can in these difficult times.

If you have lost a loved one, contact the friendly and understanding team at Perth Cremations and we’ll ensure a smooth and tasteful process for saying your last goodbyes.