Grief is personal, no doubt about it. Everyone handles grief in their own way. The grieving process can take time. Yet life has a way of hitting you over the head!
The time your company offered to help you with the grieving process is over. It is time to go back to work. The question you have is, how do I handle this grieving process in the office?
One way is to confide in a few of your associates because you know they are aware of why you took your time off. Let them know how you feel and why you feel that specific way. Allow them to take care of you and nurture you while you are still grieving. Be as honest as possible about your feelings. You may be surprised at the positive responses you receive. I trust that you have chosen the appropriate people to share your personal life with, at least in part.
What if you find yourself having a breakdown at work? The best thing to do is to find a separate, quiet place. If all else fails, use a bathroom to cry or scream. Or go to your care; or go home and take a personal day.
Check if your company provides grief counseling – you never know. If not, you might want to seek some outside help, or you can choose quiet time to reflect on your relationship with this person and go for several long walks.
Whichever way works best for you, please know that going back to work isn’t all bad. As long as you keep moving forward, you will come out of this process in good shape.
This is a good time to prop up your mindfulness techniques. Find a grief group to help you temporarily. You are not alone.
Joanne, the line that hit me the most was in your first paragraph, spending time with family and then bam! you get the phone call. So often nowadays, although not at work, we don’t reach out to family members because we are so busy in own lives, and that’s sad because a day may come when that phone call does come. For those out of the workforce, one thing is for sure, everyone handles grief differently, but its good to move forward regardless. Thank you for this article
Thank you Lynn Forrester-Pitocco for your comments to this post about Grief. Extended family can sometimes not be a big part of our lives, yet we need to consider them and bring these people into our current loop so they do not get that Bam! call unceremoniously. It can be hurtful.