Coping With A Wrongful Death
When someone you love is killed due to the neglectful actions or even honest mistakes of others, the pain can be indescribable. There are 3 ways to help yourself cope with the loss of your loved one and the circumstances of their death.
FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CIRCUMSTANCES
If possible, try to find out what the exact circumstances of your loved one's death were. Often, people can have nightmares and consistent worry about various aspects of their loved one's death, including whether or not they suffered, if they were in pain, or if they knew the end was coming.
It can help ease curiosity and worry when you know these kinds of answers about someone's death. When left to imagine, people often imagine the worst, and end up causing themselves undue stress and strain.
ACCEPT THAT YOU'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE
Sometimes people will pin blame on themselves and take on unnecessary guilt for the death because they had a hand in events that led up to the incident. For instance, if they hadn't allowed their son to go to a party, he might not have been in the taxi that got hit by a semi. Or, if they had cooked healthier meals at home, their wife wouldn't have needed the bypass surgery in the first place.
It's important to understand that you did not have a hand in your loved one's demise. Keep fault with those who deserve some actual responsibility. In the above examples, this would be the semi-truck driver and the doctor performing the bypass surgery. Their actions, or lack thereof, directly caused a death.
FORGIVE
This is simultaneously the most fiercely difficult and the most effectively healing component of coping with a wrongful death. When you can find it within yourself to forgive whoever was responsible, you relieve yourself of the burden of anger and resentment. Some people aren't remorseful at all for the life that they took from world. Therefore, you being angry with them doesn't affect them at all.
However, that anger can eat at you and turn you into someone people don't like to be around, someone who doesn't take care of their health like they could, and someone who is incapable of achieving a fulfilling, happy life because they can't stop being mad.
After all, the person responsible is the one who has blood on their hands, may have to spend decades in prison, and has on their conscience the death of another human being. Meanwhile, you still have other family members and friends who love and care about you and want you to be safe, happy, and healthy.
If you find yourself struggling to accomplish any of these steps, consider consulting a licensed therapist to help you work through any anger, guilt, sadness, or other strong emotions you might be feeling. You may also find peace in bringing the responsible person to justice by contacting a wrongful death lawyer at a firm like the Law Offices Of John Drew Warlick Jr., P.A.
