It is normal for mourners to experience feelings of extreme isolation, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
When Covid-19 preventative measures of physical isolation are added to this, and the comfort of conciliatory gatherings with family members and friends is removed or reduced to a brief and restricted funeral gathering, the pain can become almost unbearable.
Coralie Deas, facilitator of the Victory Park Griefshare Programme, believes that the bereaved need to talk about their loss to sympathetic listeners who really pay attention.
“During Covid-19, I lost my half-sister who lived in Zimbabwe, and I was unable to travel to see her or attend the funeral. Again, my Griefshare experience of being with others confronting similar hardships was comforting and healing,” said Deas.
When the Covid-19 lockdown hit last year, the group launched an online version of their seminars that seek to bring comfort to those coping with the loss of a loved one.
The first stand-alone session for the year is entitled Loss of a Spouse and widows/widowers will be able to attend via Zoom on 3 February.
“The death of a spouse or life partner changes your life forever. The daily emotional rollercoaster and challenges can seem too hard to bear. At this one-evening seminar, you will receive support, watch a video and be part of a discussion group. This will help enable you to face the future with a measure of hope.
“You’ll hear practical advice from others who’ve been there, what to expect in your grief, how to cope with life without your spouse and why it won’t always hurt so much,” said Deas.
The ‘general’ Griefshare programme for those grieving the death of a loved one commences on 17 February in the form of a 14-week interactive seminar support programme via once-weekly Zoom sessions.
The trained facilitators come alongside those grieving the death of a loved one, to extend compassion and hope.
Information is offered to utilise instructive videos, covering a different aspect of grief each week. Participants are invited to share their feelings in a safe, confidential, non-judgmental environment, where no-one is pressured to participate. The workbooks provided offer daily assignments to dig deep with questions on the grief journey.
While Deas and fellow facilitator Lesley Callow are based in Johannesburg, and as the respective Griefshare programmes are done via Zoom owing to Covid-19 restrictions, anyone can participate, no matter their location.
The programme is open to everyone, no matter what religion, including those who do not follow a religion. Mutual respect among the participants provides common ground in their grief experience.
Details: Coralie Deas 083 524 7016.
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