Losing a loved one can shatter you emotionally, and the pain stays with you for a lifetime. The trauma is greater if your spouse or child dies due to someone else’s negligence. Wrongful death is unimaginably painful and hard to deal with for the family members. The situation is unexpected as a road accident, a medical mistake, or a workplace mishap causes the death of your loved one.
There is no shortcut to handling the sadness, anger, fear, and depression when a tragedy of this magnitude hits out of the blue. But life must go on, and you need to live for the others in your family. The only way to do it is with conscious efforts to pick the pieces and move ahead, no matter how painful it seems. Here are some tips to help cope with the loss of a loved one due to a wrongful death mishap.
Give yourself some time
The trauma of losing a loved one always hits hard, but it gets even more traumatic when the demise is sudden. Your emotions are likely a rollercoaster, swinging between rage, anxiety, and sadness. You may feel guilty for being unable to protect a child or your partner.
The only way to overcome the emotional trauma is by giving yourself some time to heal and recover. You cannot expect things to be back to normal overnight, so let the pain recede at its pace. Remember that there is nothing wrong with being vulnerable and showing your emotions because they are a part of the healing process.
Build a support system
The grieving process is challenging, and you cannot expect to navigate it alone. Building a strong support system enables you to cope better. Start with your clan because your close family can understand your pain like no one else. In fact, you can be there for each other on the road back to healing.
Connect with your friends, neighbors, and community members and ask for help to get through the crisis physically and emotionally. Someone may offer to cook for your family or take care of your kids while you manage the funeral. Your co-workers also make a crucial part of the support system as you will need help to ease back into your professional life.
Reset your financial position
Although the emotional part of the journey is the hardest, you cannot overlook financial recovery. It is even more crucial if the loved one was the primary earning member of the family. Likewise, coping with the damages is challenging if you spent a hefty sum on the medical treatment of the injured victim before death.
Funeral expenses also pinch your finances. You must find ways to reset your finances to get life on track again. You can claim compensation in wrongful death cases because the responsible person must pay. The best way to do it is by seeking a wrongful death attorney’s help sooner than later. Getting compensation does more than cover damages. It gives you peace of mind about the guilty person being punished.
Create new routines
Your life will never be the same after losing your partner or child in a sudden mishap. You will miss them every moment because most of your routines are likely tied to them. You will remember them throughout the day, while cooking, eating, or driving to work.
Following the same schedule or vesting the same places tends to trigger painful memories. Consider creating new routines and avoid doing things that remind you of the loved one all the time. The only way to transition to the next phase of life is by moving on. A change of schedule is also helpful for children.
Invest in self-care
Your health and mental well-being take a toll when you bear the pain of losing your loved one. Expect the burden to be even more daunting when you handle the finances for the family. Although you cannot go slack on your responsibilities, you must focus on self-care during the grieving phase. Giving up on your health can cause problems for you and your dependents. Eat on time, stay active, and meditate to get on the road to normalcy again because there is no way to reverse the tragedy.
There is no shortcut to erasing the pain of losing a loved one. Coping with the loss takes time, and you should be willing to give enough to heal. Try to resume normalcy as soon as possible because a new routine can numb the pain and get life on track again.
