Hospice of Randolph County will host an evening event focusing on “Coping with Traumatic Loss” on Thursday, July 21 at 6:00pm. Melanie Coble, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, will be the featured speaker.
The event is open to surviving family and friends, as well as those who want to help people affected by suicide, homicide, accidental or sudden, traumatic death. Guidance counselors, clergy, therapists, and healthcare professionals are invited to attend as well. The event is free of charge, but the agency asks attendees to pre-register by July 19, in order to assure adequate seating, refreshments and materials.
“The loss of a loved one is in itself a deeply emotional experience, even when it is expected due to illness or gradual decline,” noted Tim Pheagin, Chaplain with Hospice of Randolph County. “Most people, before their first loss, assume that the grieving experience is simply deep sadness that fairly soon gives way to a return to normal feelings; however, once they have a significant loss, they are surprised at the variety and intensity of different emotions, including fear, anger, loss of self-esteem, guilt, and other things. When you add the element of a sudden, traumatic event, the experience becomes quite complex.”
Dr. Rodney Otwell, Chaplain and Bereavement Coordinator, added: “When a loved one dies accidentally, family members struggle to understand ‘why,’ not just in terms of cause and effect, but in trying to find a deeper meaning. People ask the age-old questions like, ‘Why did God allow this to happen?’ Survivors are often filled with regret about things that were left unsaid or undone. Since they can’t easily come to grips with the loss, such feelings as guilt, anger, and blaming, are magnified, along with the deep sense of sadness and loss. The term bereaved literally means to be robbed. This certainly applies to accidental and homicidal deaths.”
Both Otwell and Pheagin went on to say that loss by homicide carries the added pain of a yearning for justice, which may take years to resolve. In cases where the homicide is unsolved, that yearning may never be fully addressed. Particularly with homicide, profound fear may become a survivor’s constant companion because it leaves a person with an indelible image and realization that his/her own life can be taken in a moment.
Suicide loss is a deeply painful, complex and traumatic experience. Often survivors are left with an endless array of intense emotions and unanswered questions. Sometimes they struggle with unspecific guilt – wondering what they could have done differently, thinking they could have been more attentive and aware, etc. Others struggle with very specific guilt over past conflicts and careless words. Some struggle with a sense of shame and stigma, while still others struggle with the possible spiritual implications of the decision to end one’s own life. Accidental death has many of the same emotions, along with its own set of emotional issues, with survivors struggling to make sense of the loss.
Featured speaker Melanie Coble is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Randolph County, who specializes in supporting children and adults with mental health and substance abuse issues. Coble also has extensive experience in medical social work in a variety of environments, including hospice agencies and hospitals.
For more information or to register for the session, interested persons should call Hospice of Randolph County at 336-672-9300, or email: info@hospiceofrandolph.org.
