During such a hard life experience, reliable and trustworthy friends are one of the most important things a teen who has lost their parent will need. As a fundamental part of your friend’s support system, be sure that your friend knows that you will be there for them if they want to talk about how they feel, or even just about anything else. We all learned it in kindergarten: a good listener is attentive and kind; yet, this can be an attitude that is usually easier said than done, an attitude that can be hard to maintain over long periods of time.
I lost my mother in a very sudden incident, and I can’t stop reliving the situation on how she could have been saved. I can’t stop feeling that it was preventable and my fault.
How should one expect to feel around the holiday time? Is it appropriate to use rituals that you used to do with the deceased?
My father died in the line of duty, and I can’t help but feel that what he did was both heroic and preventable. I don’t know why he enlisted when he could have been safe at home. It makes me angry; how can I help justify his decision and not be angry with him?