HAPPY HOLIDAYS, TO EVERYONE?

There are designated dates on the calendar when absences are much more present. And one of them is undoubtedly Christmas.

The time of year when the family is supposed to get together again.

For many families that is no longer possible and sadness and discouragement can emerge that replace the joy of reunion. However, the environment is not always understanding and one may feel forced to appear happy so as not to be a spoilsport.

“You have to cheer up” “Everything will be fine” “Time heals everything” are some of the phrases that are often heard and that show the difficulty that our society has in living with pain. In the era of “if you are not happy it is because you are not trying hard enough” emotions such as sadness are uncomfortable, which actually have an adaptive function in the grieving processes since it leads us to introspection to connect with ourselves, give ourselves a time and preserve our energy to gain strength and return to life and on the other hand it works as an expression of the need for support.

Support in the form of being able to talk about the person who is no longer here, expressing the emotions that come naturally, which can be a mixture of sadness because they are no longer there and joy when remembering endearing moments. Human beings, as social animals that we are, need others, their company, their support, their presence to help us move forward. The loss of a loved one can generate a great feeling of loneliness to which is added the feeling of loneliness due to the lack of understanding of the environment.

That is why from P(A)T we propose the MEETING POINT, a mourning group of people affected by traffic accidents to go through grief together.

If you or a family member have gone through this situation, write to us at pat-apat@pat-apat.org and we will inform you how to join the group. Living it together is better.