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Viewing
Embalming
l Interment l Traditional Funeral
Many individuals and families choose to set aside
time for a gathering of family and friends following the loss of a family
member. This is quite often referred to as a visitation opportunity. We
all benefit from a time when friends and family gather around us to help
or support us. This is true in many instances throughout our lifetime,
however, it's benefit is most noticeable at the time of a loss.
Many people experience a sense of numbness,
disbelief, and sometimes isolation following the death of a family member.
When people gather around to assist in some of the chores or daily tasks
this can be physically and emotionally helpful. This is similar to the
idea of people gathering at the funeral home for visitation. During this
time, these people are helping to emotionally support the family. This is
accomplished through the sharing of stories and memories of the deceased
and their interactions with other members of the family and community.
This helps lift the sense of isolation that many bereaved experience as it
points out that there are others who share a sense of loss. The family is
not alone.
Presence of friends and family at a visitation
time also helps the bereaved by providing a sounding board or a listening
ear to hear the family repeat the story of the deceased illness or the
details of the accident that may have tragically taken the life of their
loved one. This helps bring about the true realization that the person has
died. This may sound somewhat unbelievable , but it is hard for a human
being to accept that a loved one has died, because they have always
thought of them in terms of the things they have done or the activities
they have shared over the years. The psychological side of our mind needs
to hear these details of the death over and over to convince itself,
because it is so foreign to think of this live person as now being dead.
This helps in the transition from a relationship of presence to a
relationship of memory.
Viewing the deceased is also a benefit for the
same reason. The psychological part of the human mind needs hard physical
proof that the live person they have been so involved with, is now dead.
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