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Coping With the Loss of a Friend
When a friend passes away, it can be an incredibly difficult time. The loss of a friend is a deeply personal and often traumatic experience that can take a long time to process and overcome. Here are a few tips on how to cope with the death of a friend:
- Allow yourself to mourn. The best thing to do in times of loss is to provide yourself time to feel pain and to grieve. You may find it helpful to keep a journal, talk to a friend, or even seek out a therapist for guidance.
- Sharing memories. It can be comforting to reminisce about shared experiences with other people, or even by yourself. Looking through old photos, mementos, or cards can be helpful in conjuring up warm memories.
- Finding closure. Death can often leave us with questions that remain unanswered. Whenever possible, try to speak with the deceased's family or friends to gain insight into how they lived their life, and close any unfinished conversations that may still need a resolution.
- Moving forward. Once you are able to successfully mourn the loss of a friend, and find a kind of closure, focus on doing something which honors the departed's memory. This can be as simple as a donation, or a volunteer effort. Doing work that plays to a memory of your late friend is a sweet way of moving forward, while at the same time protecting the connection that you shared.