COLUMBUS, Ohio — Christmas is just a couple days away, but with hospitalizations surging amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent violence hitting an all-time high in central Ohio, many families are grieving this holiday season.
If you are suffering from the loss of a loved one, you're not alone.
“Holidays are usually about tradition and tradition always includes family and so when there's a family member missing, that messes with our tradition, which messes with our holidays,” said Julia Ellifritt, executive director with Cornerstone of Hope.
Ellifritt says her organization has seen more people dealing with grief than ever. To make the holidays easier, she says it’s important to have a plan.
“You have to have some sort of plan. Otherwise that day happens and you're feeling very particularly lonely and vulnerable and it's a difficult day,” she said.
Ellifritt also says don't think too much about how the day should go.
“Lower your expectations; this isn't going to be the year that you make 15 different kinds of cookies. It’s going to be the year where you're going to go buy a box of Oreos or just make one kind of cookie and do not feel bad about yourself,” she said.
One of the tips from Cornerstone of Hope is to hang a stocking for your loved one. Have family members write out favorite memories, put them in the stocking and then on Christmas Eve read them together.
If you or someone you know is struggling with grief, depression or thoughts of suicide this holiday season, know there is help. The number for the National Suicide Hotline is 800-273-8255.