Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gay Kennedy on September 10, 2013 at 8:47am

Al, 3 mos is so fresh on this journey of grief.  I think that at first our body goes into kind of shock and in a few mos we start waking up to life without our loved one.  This is something I found to be true 14 yrs ago when our grandson died.  There are so many emotions with grief and yep, anger is one of them as well as the anxiety you are feeling.  My brother died here at my home Nov 7, 2011.  My heart was broken with his death.  It was sudden with a cancer diagnosis Oct 13 and death Nov 7. 

It wasn't the $5 you were angry over.....it was the idea that your brother's death didn't matter to the service rep.  I can remember hearing music on a car radio really loud as I left the funeral home and being very upset with them....how could they just go on with their lives when my life was so devastated. 

Church...keep going....keep singing even to yourself...even when you don't feel like it.  Angry with God.....tell him so...tell him outloud.  I did.....I went to church a couple months after our grandson died and left in the middle of our song service thinking to myself..."I don't want to worship You!".  I drove to cemetary and stood at Parker's grave and screamed at God how angry I was with him.  I read the book "Confessions of a Grieving Christian" by Zig Ziglar....excellent book on grief. 

I didn't get angry with God after Giles died.....I think for one thing because Giles was saved and baptised here in my home before his death.....or maybe it was because of being angry with him after Parker died. 

Pray......no you won't get your brother back but pray for your own peace of heart...for you own strength.

One more word of advice...talk about your brother.   Talking about my losses helped me a lot....sometimes talking about fond memories....sometimes about the pain....sometimes with tears and sometimes with laughter.  My brother and I rode horses together....I don't ride any more due to getting thrown and breaking some bones but I think if I did I would enjoy doing it and enjoy the memories of our rides. 

I am very sorry for your loss and the pain you are dealing with.  

Prayers are with you

Gay

 

Permalink Reply by Regina Grass on September 12, 2013 at 12:42pm

3 months is such a brief period to deal with the most shocking and life-changing event in our lives!!!  For about 6 months, I was just going through the motions walking, breathing, and paying bills and not 'wanting' to be other people.  However, I had every right to be angry....My baby sister was gone and your going to give me a "hard time".  It's GRIEF!!!

Friends don't know how to handle it, unless they have been through the loss of a sibling.

So sometimes its uncomfortable, well most of the time.  Keep writing here, that was my outlet...because the people here know the pain associated with what you are going through.

You will get stronger, i know those are just words and I'm sure you have heard them...BUT they are true!! I have read somewhere losing somone close is like a spotlight in your eyes all the time. In time, the spotlight fades and we are able to live, even with the spotligh still there. Our focus shifts...easier said than done!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Jojo on October 16, 2013 at 8:33pm

Hi-

I share your feelings. I lost my sister at 41 years old on September 18 of this year to lung cancer; she never smoked a day in her life. She found out she had cancer two weeks prior; the other two weeks she was being treated for pneumonia.  We were best friends. It hurts my heart so bad! What hurts more is people telling me "it will get better". I, like you,  also get aggravated at the smallest things now. I don't enjoy people texting me all day telling me they are praying for my family; I just wish they would pray and not text all day. I am in a bad mood.. to top it off, people feel as if I can just go back to teaching in my state of my mind. I am praying for you, as I also continue to pray for patience, wisdom, and understanding.. Be Blessed... 

Permalink Reply by Mindy on November 12, 2013 at 4:57pm

3 months is still very fresh. I felt like that when I lost my little brother. I was told that it will be very very hard in the next few months, and it was true. I go to sleep and wake up with him on my mind. I couldn't sleep so I had to take sleeping pills. It went on to the point where I couldn't stand it anymore and felt so lost that I went to therapy. It helped a little. I started to keep myself busy by doing cross stitches. I began to love just counting holes for my stitches. That helped me a lot. It's been 2 years and it's easier now, but I still avoid looking at his pictures or listen to anything that will remind me of him. It will get eaiser, but I dont think it will ever go away. I feel like my life is incomplete now, like I lost a piece of my body/soul forever. I want to let you know that you are not the only one going through this. *hugs* I hope you will find hobbies to keep you busy. Like I always tell myself, I will see him again one day.

Permalink Reply by Caryn Hersh on November 21, 2013 at 8:59am

I am so sorry for your loss. I lost my brother to suicide in February 2013. I can say it is finally starting to get easier, it started around the 9 month mark. I too thought by 4 or 5 months I would be feeling better than I was by I was feeling worse. I think the shock had worn off and the reality had set in, I would never speak or see him alive again. It was overwhelming and all encompassing. It felt likes waves crashing over me and every time I thought I might be okay and that I might be able to breath there came another one and it pushed me under again. I know for me the one thing that did help is that I became active with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I did their Out of the Darkness walk and was the #1 fundraiser in my walk.  I am about 6 months ahead of you in this process, I'm not saying that I'm a role model or anything but I can say it does start to ease. You will start to have a good hour or a good morning/afternoon followed by a good day and so on. Believe they are really spread out in the beginning but atleast you get them. Oh and yes you are normal with your feelings. I was afraid of the same things .

 

Permalink Reply by A.L Montgomery on November 21, 2013 at 11:21pm

Thanks you Caryn. And very sad to hear about your brother.  That makes my heart break for you. I have a new outlook on things since this happened and I sure wish I didn't.  Now I hear people mention their daughter or brother or father having died and their heart is still broken years later and I realize now that I will never feel better about it, I think I just have to get used to it.  It makes me hurt for everyone else going through this in a way I never could have understood before. 

Permalink Reply by Caryn Hersh on November 22, 2013 at 8:09am

It does give you a different outlook . It makes you more sympathetic to people it also or at least to me makes me more anxious when you can't get a hold of someone. This is one of the things I hate. Iam trying deal with it but it's hard.

Permalink Reply by Debbie Kratzer on December 8, 2013 at 9:00am

Its too new to you...Its like a 'new wound'....I felt the same way you do...2 yrs ago when my only brother died. it is true, time does heal...for me anyway. I never would have believed it 2 yrs ago though...the first yr I cried every single day..and cried myself to sleep at night. he was my only sibling..13 months older than I. I felt a part of me went with him. I am so much better...after the first year...and then the second year.WE have to keep living..for our family here on earth NOW....but give yourself time to mourn.....I dream about my brother a lot..used to scare the crap out of me...now I cherish those dreams...here if you need to talk....I can even talk about my brother Rick now without crying....most of the time anyway...you will be ok...its all normal in my opinion...

Permalink Reply by Caryn Hersh on December 8, 2013 at 11:27am

I am now 10 months out and some things are getting to be less of a chore. While others are the infamous firsts, 1st bday for him not being here , my bday , his son's bday. The list goes on. Since my brother's death so much has happened. I have become completely estranged from my parents. They feel my sister in law is to blame for his suicide, they actually called her a murderer so needless to say she wants nothing to do with them and they don't get to see their grandson. I am very close with my sister in law and do not blame her for anything. I am also super close with my nephew. My parents hate that. And then there is the whole issue of abuse that both my brother and I were subjected to growing up. So in just a matter of a few months it's like I lost my entire immediate family. He was my only sibling. I have also recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, that was not a surprise. The good thing is I am getting so much stronger. I am healing . I am understanding why my brother did what he did. I know I will come out on the other side as a stronger healthier me. I almost feel like I have my brother to thank for me being able to deal with my past. I just wish he didn't have to kill himself to make it happen. I know he is watching over me and cheering me on.

Permalink Reply by Isa on January 16, 2014 at 5:50pm

I feel and find my self doing the same exact thing you're doing! I don't know if this will ever change!? My sister was killed 8 months ago and as the days pass by i feel that it only gets worse, but maybe it's just me and the guilt of not being there for her like I should've is just killing me little by little!

I am very sorry for your lost just know that if you ever want to talk I'm here and you will be in my prayers!

Permalink Reply by D C K on February 28, 2014 at 12:24pm

Many people say that one of the most difficult situations they have to face is the loss of a loved one. I am so sorry for the loss and pain that you are feeling. No two people grieve in precisely the same way. Some shed tears openly, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The Bible reports that David “wept bitterly” after the death of his son Amnon. (2 Samuel 13:36) Even Jesus “gave way to tears” when he saw the distress caused by the death of his friend Lazarus.—John 11:33-35.

Coming to terms with your sibling’s death will take time, and that’s understandable considering what has happened.

Be assured that “God is greater than our hearts and knows all things.” (1 John 3:20) He knows better than any human the factors and circumstances that may have contributed to your sibling’s distressed state. He also knows you—better than you know yourself. (Psalms 139:1-3)  You can be confident that he understands what you are going through.  When your grief seems overwhelming recall the words of Psalms 55:22, "Throw your burden on Jehovah, and he will sustain you.  Never will he allow the rightteous one to fall."

Some comforting scriptures for you to ponder to get through today and the next may be: 

Psalms 34:18, Psalms 22:24 and John 5:28&29

I pray that this information helps you and others to gain some comfort, as it has for me personally.  Should you need more comfort, please feel free to visit www.jw.org.