How to Comfort a Grieving Friend

Overview

In addition to the shock and sadness a friend may experience over a loss, grieving can be triggered during holidays and anniversaries. The American Cancer Society says that grieving is an emotional process that takes time. Learning how to comfort a grieving friend takes patience and understanding, acknowledging that every person grieves in her own way.

Step 1

Be there for your friend during the initial phases of grief that include shock. The person may feel numb and shut off from the world. Your presence can help him keep in touch with reality and with other people.

Step 2

Allow your friend to go through the rituals she needs to follow to get through the shock she is experiencing. Funerals, crying jags and periods of isolation are part of the process, and people need to be free to go through their own mourning. Knowing they have the support of a friend can help them be free to express their grief and get to the other side.

Step 3

Guide your friend to a support group, such as GriefShare, or an online community such as GriefNet, where she can find others who have gone through similar experiences. Many people feel freer to express their grief among others whom they know will understand their pain. While you may not feel burdened by their need to talk about their grief, friends often keep their emotions from others in an attempt to spare them.

Step 4

Offer to perform errands that can ease your friend's burdens. Take your friend's children out for a day, do the grocery shopping or clean the house. Make sure he has plenty of healthy food on hand that needs no preparation. People who are grieving often lose their appetite, which can affect their health and add to their discomfort.