One of the most overwhelming things that we have to deal with when it comes to losing a loved one is that feeling of guilt. Learning to cope with guilt is something that can be difficult and is normal to feel guilt, but you have to remember that guilt is something that can be a natural side effect of what has actually occurred. So what does it really take to help us to cope with this feeling of guilt, and is it something that we should be feeling in the first place?
The Importance of Understanding Who Really is at Fault
This is something that we all need to remember because if there is someone specifically at fault, is there a sense of guilt because we didn’t do enough to help them at the time? The fact is that when it comes to a lot of these factors, part of the solution to help us can be about getting redemption for the person who lost their life. In a legal sense, law firms like McCoy & Hiestand, PLC can help with this, but we have to remember that while we feel guilty because we feel that we didn’t do enough, is this really a fact that we are the person at fault? Most of the time it is not.
Ask Yourself What They Would Actually Say To You
This is something that we also need to remember because if we are grieving we are caught up in the past, which is painful, but we also need to use this to our advantage. As part of the grieving process, we can imagine what this person is saying to us. We can feel guilty that we haven’t done enough for them, but if you feel like this, engage in an imagined conversation with them. It’s not about absolving blame, but about ensuring that if we are feeling guilty then we are actually feeling guilty for a real-world reason. Usually, people feel guilty because they think they could have done more. A lot of the time the reality is that if we have lost someone to an addiction the fact is that addiction is a completely self-absorbed disease. Asking yourself what they would say if you told them how you felt may seem painful, but it can be a very effective coping strategy.
The Importance of Forgiveness
Forgiving yourself is critical. Guilt is a normal emotional response to grief. If you are living with someone that lost their life due to addiction to alcohol but you didn’t spot the signs of alcohol abuse, the fact is that you may wish you could have changed something in the past or said something different, but we’re all human and mistakes are part of life. When you start to feel like this, you must think about self-forgiveness because it will help you come to terms with what has happened and will gradually help you move on with your life. Self-forgiveness may seem selfish, but it is not.
