Sympathy Words: A Few Ideas For Comforting Others
Nearly everybody has, at some time or another, experienced the loss of a loved one. Many have also been in the position to comfort a friend at the loss of someone dear to them. In either case, sympathy words are exchanged. The perennial problem is, of course, that in times of grief, it may be difficult to find the right words. It may in fact be difficult to physically say them at all. However, it’s important to express your sympathy to your friend or loved one, and you can find examples of sympathy words at ObituariesHelp.org
What Words of Sympathy to Say
Choosing your words when you are called on to comfort someone in grief is more complicated than just trying to make them feel better. You want them to know that you can empathize with their pain. The difficult part in all of that is knowing that they will have heard sympathy words from perhaps a hundred other people as well, so what can you say that will truly give them peace and closure? Look to samples of sympathy words online for inspiration. An excellent website that has words of sympathy samples in cards, letters, sayings and quotes is at ObituariesHelp.org
Here is something to think about: If you had just lost one of your parents or a sibling, what would you find comforting? How well you know someone is a good litmus test of what you should say and how you should say it. When finding sympathy words, always remember to whom you are speaking. If that person is a very private individual, he or she may prefer to be left alone for the most part. In that case, knowing when the appropriate time to approach is essential to successfully providing comforting sympathy words to the grieving person.
A Short List of Sympathy Words
The following is a short list of sympathy words you can say to someone to bring him or her comfort. You can find a complete list of sympathy words for dozens of different situations at www.ObituariesHelp.org.
- You are always in my prayers
- He/She would be very happy to know that you loved him/her so much
- Always remember that you have friends and we are here for you, so if there is anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.
- You can find peace in the good memories that you have
- I know this is hard, but you can make it through
These are just a few things that people have found to be helpful over the years. They are effective mainly because the speaker empathizes with the bereaved. That is the main thing, and it cannot be overstated. Your sympathy words should show that you empathize with the kind of pain they are experiencing, and that you can help them through it.
Sympathy Phrases to Avoid
Saying “I know how you feel” to someone who has lost a loved one is not the best way to show your sympathy. Words like that can sometimes hurt more than they help because no one can truly know what another person is feeling about anything, especially the death of someone dear. ObituariesHelp.org also has lists of Phrases to Avoid for sympathy sayings or words of sympathy.
Also, avoid being at all insincere. Again, remember that this person will most likely have heard sympathy words from many other people over a few days, so the last thing they want to hear is condolences that are not heartfelt. Don’t offer your help if you can’t or won’t actually help.
Actions Speak Louder than Words
Sometimes, offering sympathy words can involve no words at all. Making a meal for someone when you know they don’t feel like cooking for themselves can be a great help. Simply offering a hug is often a very comforting gesture. Day to day tasks may be hard for the bereaved to complete. Doing their dishes, mowing the lawn, taking the kids to school or other activities are all ways to show you care and are simple sympathy gestures that mean so much.
The grieving process is different for everybody, but the one immutable truth behind everybody’s experience is that the right words or gestures can go a long way towards easing the pain of this difficult transition in their lives.
About the Author
Melanie Walters recommends ObituariesHelp.org for Free Sympathy Words and Sayings examples,genealogy resources, guides to building a family tree, written examples of eulogies as well as help with funeral planning.
|
|
Taboo : Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We’re Afraid to Talk About It $9.74 A sure-to-be-controversial argument, based on the latest scientific research, that blacks are inherently better athletesand a searing investigation into why were so uncomfortable with that conclusion.. Drawing on the latest scientific research, journalist Jon Entine makes an irrefutable case for black athletic superiority. We learn how scientists have used numerous, bogus scientific methods to pro… |
|
|
Bag,Quotes,Col $10.99 BAG,QUOTES,COL |
|
|
Card Quotes CD-1000 Quotes $14.99 1000 Card Quotes. This compact disc features 1000 quotes with full sized artwork for every possible occasion as well as stickers and more. Internet access; Adobe Acrobat Reader and a printer are required. Can be used with both Mac and PC Computers. Made in USA. |
|
|
Ancestry’s Red Book by Eichholz, Alice Edition , 2 $13.99 Ancestry’s Red Book. Eichholz, Alice |
|
|
Ancestry and Health $100.37 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles Racial and ethnic groups can exhibit substantial average differences in disease incidence, disease severity, disease progression, and response to treatment. In the United States, African Americans have higher rates of mortality than does any other racial or ethnic group for 8 of the top 10 causes of death. U.S. Latinos have higher rates of death from diabetes, liver disease, and infectious diseases than do nonLatinos. Native Americans suffer from higher rates of diabetes, tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza, and alcoholism than does the rest of the U.S. population. For the monogenic diseases, the frequency of causative alleles usually correlates best with ancestry, whether familial, ethnic, or geographical. To the extent that ancestry corresponds with racial or ethnic groups or subgroups, the incidence of monogenic diseases can differ between groups categorized by race or ethnicity, and healthcare professionals typically take these patterns into account in making diagnoses. Author: Miller, Frederic P./ Vandome, Agnes F./ McBrewster, John Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 162 Publication Date: 2010/08/16 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.37 inches |
|
|
K & Company Stickers-Bible Quotes $1.99 K & Company Stickers-Bible Quotes |
|
|
Rule of 1/1000th Common Ancestry $79.66 PMHigh Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles The Rule of 1/1000 common ancestry is a criterion used to create meaningful family groupings. It was first adopted by Lawrence Kestenbaum to determine which individuals should be included with specific political families on the Political Graveyard website. The rule can be made applicable to other genealogy projects. For lineal ancestors, this can be approximated by 10th degree consanguinity. The reason this is approximate, and not exact, is that common ancestry is halved every time the degree of consanguinity is increased by one. For example the degree of consanguinity of a parent is one. This means that a parent provides 1/2 1 or 1/2 of a persons ancestry (the other parent provides the other half). A 7th great grandparent has a 9th degree consanguinity, and therefore providing 1/2 9 or 1/512 common ancestry. An 8th great grandparent provides 1/1024 common ancestry which is as close as one can come to 1/1000th, and so this is the cutoff use Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Tennoe, Mariam T./ Henssonow, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 126 Publication Date: 2010/08/20 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.30 inches |
Tags: etymology, literature, names, quotes, reference
