[Friendly]

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:58 am Post subject: Help please!
A friend of mine lost her husband in an accident 2 years back. She thinks about her husband everyday and cries a lot. She has lost interest in everything. She lacks energy and becomes emotional when talking about her husband all the time. She called sick most of the days for work, and so has been depromoted, and almost about to lose her job. She is concerned about losing her job, but cannot afford to see a therapist also. What could I do to help her as a friend?? Any help is appreciated. I am trying to get help through forums, since I am helpless at this point.

[AAAAA]

Can she begin by seeing an MD? I know that you never fully recover from a loss like this, but it sounds like her grief has become depression. Antidepressants may help her function. Are there any support groups in your area? Even a site like this can be helpful.

We lost my father 5 years ago (seems like yesterday). My mother has been bipolar for as long as I can remember, prone to deep depressions and suicidal tendencies. We were very concerned about her when my dad died. But with the help of medication she's been able to continue functioning.

It is so nice that you care so much about your friend.

[gimmeice]

Hello friendly, it's nice to meet you.
I am sorry for your friends loss, it must be very hard to watch her go through this. The only advice I have is to make yourself available to your friend to talk but also take care of yourself too. Is your friend religious? Most church leaders offer counseling for these type of things, there also may be some support groups that she could join that may be helpful. Also some therapists work on what is called a sliding scale which basically means that your cost is decided by your income so that also may be something to look into.

[Friendly]

Thanks for all the advice. Where could I find support groups?

[StrawberryFieldsss]

Originally Posted by Friendly

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:58 am Post subject: Help please!
A friend of mine lost her husband in an accident 2 years back. She thinks about her husband everyday and cries a lot. She has lost interest in everything. She lacks energy and becomes emotional when talking about her husband all the time. She called sick most of the days for work, and so has been depromoted, and almost about to lose her job. She is concerned about losing her job, but cannot afford to see a therapist also. What could I do to help her as a friend?? Any help is appreciated. I am trying to get help through forums, since I am helpless at this point.

What about local bereavement groups?

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bereavement.html

Heres one page with links. I think a Google search might help you to find even more resources in your/her area.

You're a good friend in reaching out for her. That we would all be blessed with such great friends

[gimmeice]

Originally Posted by Friendly

Thanks for all the advice. Where could I find support groups?

I think that if you called a local mental health center or maybe even a drs. office may have a list of contacts. Some other ideas would be any kind of charities in your area or like a human services office and even some local churches may also know of some because at least in my area the church provides the meeting room for support groups.

[KarenT]

I have been looking up support groups on the internet. I'm sure she can find a group she will fit into.