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The Soho Road Business Improvement District (BID) have announced the cancellation of the highly anticipated Birmingham Diwali Mela festival for 2024, including the iconic festive lights that have traditionally illuminated Soho Hill, Soho Road, and Holyhead Road during Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Eid, Christmas, and New Year celebrations.

A West Midlands funeral director serving thousands of families a year, is marking this year’s Grief Awareness Day by sharing 5 effective and adaptable techniques to cope with bereavement – both in the immediate aftermath of a death and decades later.

The team at Jennifer Ashe & Son, a family-run funeral business established in 2016 and headquartered in Willenhall, are well versed when it comes to guiding families through the various stages of grief following the death of a loved one.

And now, ahead of Grief Awareness Day on 30th August, the funeral director, which has five branches across the West Midlands and Staffordshire, is offering its advice to those experiencing grief, in whatever form it takes.

Here are some of Managing Director, John Ashe’s top tips for combatting grief…

Accept your feelings - “Allow yourself to feel whatever emotions you are trying to process – whether confusion, anger, sadness, or even relief. Grief is a deeply personal experience, and there's no "right" way to feel. Everyone is going through different waves of emotion, one day you could be up, the next feeling down.

“But what is important is to accept your emotions without judging yourself. It can help you on the path towards healing. Here at Jennifer Ashe & Son, we run several bereavement groups across the region, that help those struggling with grief to seek solace and comfort by discussing their emotions with one another.

“Often, when people attend one of our informal groups, they find they can get things off their chest to strangers experiencing loss, when they’ve perhaps struggled to talk to their family or friends about how they were feeling. The shared feeling of grief is a powerful one.”

Read about grief and the experience of others - “Literature can help explain bereavement to all ages, but it can be particularly helpful when supporting a child or young person who has suffered a loss. We have a series of children’s books in all of our branches, that sensitively describe the events of death, feelings of grief, the funeral process and life ‘afterwards.’

“Often a death - whether sudden or expected - raises questions about mortality, what happens after death, our own place in the world and the fragility of life. Reading or listening to podcasts and watching TV or films dealing with grief can bring further acceptance and understanding of the feelings you are experiencing.”

Memorialise - “Finding ways to remember and celebrate the person you have lost can be beneficial. This could include creating a scrapbook, planting a tree, writing a letter, or engaging in a tradition that was shared between you and your loved one.

“By celebrating the memory, you can keep your connection to them alive, while moving forward with your life. It is important to listen to yourself, as grieving is a process that takes many forms, and really does differ person-by-person: try to establish what works for you to help you deal with the loss of your loved one and go from there.”

Maintain a routine - “Maintaining a daily routine can provide a sense of stability during a time of emotional upheaval. Simple tasks like eating meals at regular times, exercising, or engaging in hobbies can help ground you.

“You may find it is not the routine you were used to, pre-loss, but a regular form of activities you need to carry out for your own wellbeing, as well as those you enjoy doing is going to help you feel a larger sense of normality. Phased returns to work, the weekly food shop, or a coffee with friends – all these normal activities will help bring back a sense of meaning and purpose.”

Time is the greatest healer - “It is possibly the most common cliché in the world, but having supported families with grieving for nearly a decade, we can hand on heart confirm that time does help. The immediate aftermath of a death is often a time of shock and denial, coloured by a sense that the world will never be right again. This is entirely normal.

“When a week has passed, a month, even a year, the pain can still feel very raw. But as the years continue to pass, the happy memories take centre stage. Acceptance grows. Perhaps in that time someone you are less close to passes away, and you share your experience with their nearest and dearest. Or maybe you come to see the passing of your loved one as a blessing because they were suffering with an illness. It is impossible to know these feelings will develop so close to the time of the death, but so often we see that they do.

“Practically, try to ensure you are getting enough regular sleep, and you are eating your regular meals, even if you do not feel like doing so. By looking after your body, you are giving yourself the best tools to cope with your grief. Every day is a small step of progress and it is crucial to be kind to yourself.

“But all of this can take time. We have discussed many options, many techniques and many methods that might help and work for you. It might take longer than you’d expect, or might never truly go away – there is not set timeframe for how long grief can impact our daily lives.

“Embrace the power of talking to someone, whether close family and friends, or a stranger at a bereavement group and look after your wellbeing. As each day passes, it is a new opportunity to both remember your loved one and move forward.”

Jennifer Ashe & Son Funeral Directors is an award-winning, family-run funeral director, established in 2016. The team specialises in providing a supportive and caring service for families across the West Midlands and Staffordshire during the difficult times of bereavement.

 

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