Does anyone honestly know how to handle or deal with death in general? Probably not.
For me, death is a very weird concept and nineteen years later, I still have no idea how to feel about it. Feeling sad is an obvious feeling, of course, but other than that, I always find death to be extremely confusing and for most people, it is probably the same way, weird and confusing. I have never been a fan of funerals, not that anyone really is, but they really freak me out and make me very anxious, overall, it’s just an awful experience for not only people but most people.
This certain feeling can be a lot worse when it is a family member or friend. For me, I have experienced both, multiple times, with me being young and older, neither get easier. Having lost classmates and both grandparents, and most recently, a very close friend, it never really does get easier, ever. The hardest part for me is not knowing what comes after, I do consider myself as a religious person, but no one honestly, knows what happens after death, although I believe in Heaven, it’s hard to say what death is actually like and thinking about that confuses me the most.
There is no one way to explain how losing a family member or close friend. Everything feels so hard and the feeling of being lost is the hardest part about coping with a death, for me, just simply not knowing what is next after death keeps me up most nights, especially after something like this happens. Losing a close family member or friend, to me, feels like trying to put together a puzzle with a missing piece. A puzzle cannot be completed without every single piece, the puzzle is incomplete and simply cannot be finished. Losing someone is the missing piece to your puzzle, incomplete, making life just a little bit harder than normal and unusual. Without that missing piece, everything just feels sort of off and out of place and things just don’t look right. A missing piece to a puzzle is the only way I can think of to describe what it feels like to lose a family or friend.
There are many different ways that people learn to cope with things like this and everyone is different. Some people choose to cope in ways that aren’t necessarily healthy or safe for them and during those times, things can be especially difficult, because you are not only battling with the loss of a family member or friend, but also battling with those around you, trying to get you to snap out of it. There is no right way to cope with death. For me, I find it easier to cope with things like death by being around family and friends, people who make my life better in every way. I have always found that I feel better that way than any other coping method. Being that help for someone else during their time of need is also the best thing a person could do, in my opinion. Death is uncertain and scary but the only way to get through it is by helping not only yourself but others as well. I will forever cherish the memories I had with my friend, they will stay with me forever.
