5 Ways to Cope with Robin Williams' Death (and other losses)

On Monday, my mother sent me a text message: "Did you hear about Robin Williams?"

This line sent me into an instant panic. I quickly googled his name and found out the news.

"I just googled it," I texted back. "That's awful."

I cried. I cried a lot. I cried for hours. I stopped, felt numb about the issue, and then cried some more. This cycle continued for the next 40+ hours.

I don't need to state how much influence Robin Williams had in my life. Like many others, he brought me an abundance of laughter. I grew up on his movies and his loss hit me like nothing else had ever hit me before.

I never experienced grief like this and I'm sure there are others out there who feel the same way. We're all mourning the loss of a wonderful and kind man that was taken from us due to an awful mental disease. The question is, how do we deal with this loss and learn to live with it?

Source: BigStockPhoto

The following are pieces of advice taken from different sources, such as Help Guide, WikiHow, and WebMD. Everyone experiences loss differently, so please feel free to adjust these suggestions to better suit your grieving situation.

1. Don't Ignore your Pain

Distractions may be great to cope with loss in a short-term sense, but they just make it worse in the long run. You need to acknowledge your pain in order to move on from it. This, by no means, is a suggestion that you need to wallow in your pain in order to properly mourn. Know the healthy middle-ground that works for you.  It is better to spend your days doing productive things and surround yourself with good people than to concentrate on the sadness that comes with loss.

Suggestion: Try watching your favorite Robin Williams films or shows. It will make you sad and you may cry, but by emerging yourself in nostalgic memories and laughter you will begin to move to a proper place of healing.

2. Get Support

This one is extremely important. Sharing loss can help the stress and overall burden of grief. Do not try to fight this battle alone. Support will help you heal.

Suggestions: Turn to family and friends and discuss your feelings. If you do not have a support system like that, try talking to a counselor or therapist. If you're worried about the cost of such services, dial 2-1-1 and ask about free or discounted sessions. There are several types of support groups you can join to ease the grieving process. 

3. Help Yourself

Remember, please do not ignore your well-being during your grieving process. Make sure to eat properly, sleep and exercise. Healing will be more difficult if you ignore your health during this time of loss and healing.

Suggestions: Take time to make sure your body is getting what it needs and avoid abusing products that will hinder your efforts, such as drugs and alcohol.

4. Know Your Limits

Suicides go up when a famous person dies after losing their battle with mental illness. If you’re thinking of suicide, call 800-283-8255 or any of the appropriate hotlines listed here.

Suggestions: Don't let anyone tell you what you're doing to heal is wrong or to simply "get over it." It is okay to feel the way you feel. Know what works for you and plan ahead for events and situations that will trigger an emotional relapse.

5. Work Towards Your Happiness

Allow for time to heal in the way you were meant to heal. Let the sad thoughts in, but don't let them consume you.

Suggestions: Do something that will honor the deceased. In Williams' case, you could donate to a charity that he supported such as St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. If you do better with physical items rather than ideas, Spiffing Jewelry is donating the proceeds from their Aladdin necklace to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Remember that everyone grieves differently. These may work for you, they may not. You might cry a lot or you may not cry at all. You may be done with your grieving in a day or you may be done in a few months. This is okay. You do what you need to do to properly heal. One day, you will be okay with your loss, whether it is Robin Williams or anything else. You will be okay. 

Robin Williams was and will forever be my childhood hero. I’m heartbroken that he passed in the way he did. I’m sad he was sad. As someone who suffers from depression, I know how awful that disease can make you feel. He made people so happy and I just wish he was as happy as he made others.

Soruce: Ashley's Dallies & Doobles

Robin, you made the world smile so much. I hope you can finally smile too.

Thank you for the memories. The world will mourn the thought of a future without you, but we're so thankful for the joy you gave us.