About Grief

 The loss of a loved one can take its toll on you both physically and mentally. You may experience a roller coaster of emotions. One moment you may find yourself incapacitated by grief, whereas in the next you may feel almost normal. Anger, fear, guilt, and panic are just a few of the emotions you may experience. This is completely normal.

The physical effects of grief can include sleeplessness, excessive fatigue, headaches, general malaise, intestinal upsets, and dizziness. During periods of extreme stress such as grief, it is crucial that you try to eat regularly and to rest, since stress can suppress your immune system, making you more prone to illness.

Your grief reaction and subsequent recovery can depend on the quality of your relationship to the deceased, your capacity to handle stress, and the type of support network that you have. If your relationship was strained or you have never experienced the loss of a loved one, your grief may be overwhelming.

Do not be afraid to seek the support of family and friends. They will want to help but might not be sure how to go about doing so. All too often, those who are grieving keep their feelings to themselves and feel that others will be able to anticipate their needs. As difficult as it may seem, it may be necessary for you to take the initiative.

Talk to any of us at Williams Funeral Home. We are listeners, advisors, and supporters. We assist those who are grieving every day.

Oak Trees and Flowers in Heaven

"Oak Trees and Flowers in Heaven" is a book written to help explain death to children. Katie Minter Jones, author of the book, says "When I was faced with the problem of preparing my daughter for the impending death of her grandmother, God gave me the inspiration to write Oak Trees and Flowers in Heaven".
The author of this book, is a native of Georgia, and lives right here in Middle Georgia. This book is a resource that we at Williams Funeral Home truly believe may help our local children. For this reason, we keep several copies of the book here at our facility for families to utilize in teaching their children about death. Studies have shown that children as young as two years old can understand death and loss. Our responsibility as adults and parents is to make sure that the children are educated about what death is, and to make sure that the children don't have any misconceptions about death. The imagination of a child can sometimes draw the wrong conclusions about death, and those conclusions can scar a child if not dealt with in the right manner. This is the reason that it is highly important for the teaching and guidance of an adult and the right resources.
If you are interested in learning more about explaining death to children, or obtaining a copy of the book, Oak Trees and Flowers in Heaven, please feel free to contact us here at Williams Funeral Home. All of our contact information is listed at the bottom of this page.

Web Resources

Each of the following organization names is a link to that organization's website.

Center for Loss and Life Transition
A private organization dedicated to furthering our understanding of and compassion for the complex set of emotions we call grief. Dedicated to helping both the bereaved, by walking with them in their unique life journeys, and bereaved caregivers, by serving as their educational liaison and professional forum.

Grief and Loss
Grief support information and resources from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

GriefNet
GriefNet is an internet community of persons dealing with grief, death, and major loss. They have many e-mail support groups. Their integrated approach to online grief support provides help to people working through loss and grief issues of all kinds.

Willowgreen
A leading provider of information and inspiration in the areas of illness and dying, loss and grief, healthy caregiving, life transition, and spirituality.

Crisis, Grief, and Healing
A place where men and women can discuss, chat or browse to understand the many different paths to heal strong emotions. Resources on the siteinclude excerpts from Tom Golden's books on healing from loss.

Beyond Indigo
Beyond Indigo is part of a privately held company called Kelasan Inc. based out of Minnesota, MN. Beyond Indigo is currently the only business of Kelasan Inc. Beyond Indigo has been live on the web since 1997. The goal of this company is to provide grief support, products and services to individuals and companies who assist people who are grieving.

Kids and Grief

www.kidsaid.com
Kidsaid.com is a website designed to kids, for kids by kids.

Williams Funeral Home
513 Rose Avenue
Barnesville, GA 30204
(770) 358-1678
e-mail: staff@williamsfh.net