Atrium Health Floyd Offers Mental Health Support
Grief is familiar to many people during the holidays, but recognizing that grief can help people find meaning and possibly deepen relationships with others around them.
“Wherever people are at in the journey of grief, they should keep in mind that there will be good days and there will be hard days,” said Jason Jordan, chaplain at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center. “To integrate our loss takes time; it is not something that can be manufactured, but comes from living and relating authentically with ourselves and others.”
Jordan offers some helpful tips for dealing with grief:
- Be gentle with yourself. Make sure to give yourself words of encouragement. Offer yourself kindness and understanding. Reflect on meaningful ways to show yourself kindness throughout your journey.
- Be compassionately curious. This postures us to meet our most difficult moments with our eyes and hearts open with a tone of sympathy and kindness. Being compassionately curious invites us to relate to ourselves the way we would a friend or loved one in need.
- Lean on your sources of hope. Our sources of hope can come from many different resources: our faith, personal relationships, hobbies and pets, to name a few. Our sources of hope help nurture us with reminders we are valuable, deeply loved and not alone.
- Make time for meaningful moments. Making space for a meaningful ritual can aid in the social, emotional and spiritual healing after a loss. This can come in the form of moments of remembrance, writing letters, sharing stories, prayer or simply sitting in solitude. Support groups and grief therapists are also great resources to utilize for continued healing.
Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Heyman Hospice Care provides support for anyone who is experiencing loss and grief.
Bereavement care is typically offered to families soon after the death of their loved one and is also available earlier to help families cope with their upcoming loss.
The grief support team at hospice offers the following for all ages:
Call the office at 706-509-3200 to learn more about their services. Hospice also offers referrals and consultations for additional support when needed.
For those who feel they might need treatment to deal with grief and depression, Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health provides board-certified psychiatrists, nurses, social workers/discharge planners and therapists who work together to address a full range of mental health conditions and behaviors, including grief and loss issues and depression.
Qualified mental health professionals are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. to provide confidential mental health screenings free of charge. Insurance will not be billed.
This screening is an important first step in determining the level of care a person might need. The goal is to determine if further assessment is needed to provide the right treatment in the best place to achieve an optimal outcome.
To receive free, confidential screening call 706-509-3500. If you need immediate mental health assistance call 1-800-418-2065.
