Grief is an individual journey but not one that has to be walked alone. The Samaritan Center for Grief Support offers resources that can help you in your journey. Krista Josepayt’s complex grief journey shows us the importance of reaching out for help.
Read about Krista’s journey below.
When Krista Josepayt, former Samaritan Center for Grief client, lost her sister and father in 2016, she was too busy taking care of everyone else to truly process her own grief.
In 2017, Krista was faced with another loss when her mother was diagnosed with, and passed away from, stage 4 cancer. The loss of her mother hit her hard. Being the surviving member of her family left her feeling like an orphan. Krista wanted to call her family, but they were all gone.
Krista began to realize that while it was easier to focus on others, it was crucial that she confront her grief. She didn’t want to burden her daughter, or her husband with all that she held inside. But she knew that she needed to find a way to deal with the grief she was feeling. Krista’s husband, sensing this internal turmoil, strongly encouraged her to use the grief counseling support offered by Samaritan. His support was the driving force for Krista to take the first step towards healing and go to counseling.
For 40 years, Samaritan has been caring for patients and families beyond the end of life and through the grieving process. A Samaritan social worker had provided Krista and her family with grief resources and let them know that the Samaritan Center for Grief support would be happy to help if they needed it. When Krista was ready she reached out to Samaritan’s grief counselors, and they were ready to help.
The Medicare hospice benefit provides bereaved individuals and families up to 13 months of counseling support and ongoing access to Samaritan’s grief support groups, all free of charge.
Additionally, Samaritan’s grief support groups are open to anyone in the community who has experienced a loss, free of charge.
Grief counseling for non-hospice bereaved is available on a sliding scale basis for either individuals or families.
“There’s just something about losing your mom,” Krista shares. “She was the most supportive, strong-willed woman I’ve ever known. She always had my back.”
For Krista, one of the harshest realities to face is that her mother, father, and sister won’t be here to see her daughter get married or have kids. “That makes me very sad,” says Krista.
Now a few years after her mom’s passing, Krista still misses her mom, dad, and sister every day, but she can better handle and process her feelings. “Counseling made all the difference!” says Krista. “It helped me through my initial grief and prepared me for what was to come.”
Grief counseling was impactful for Krista’s healing, it helped shape how she thought about and how she channeled her grief. Her grief counselor enabled her to talk through her emotions. Krista found that talking about her loved ones helped to keep their memory alive. Krista wants to remember the sound of her father’s voice and how her mother smelled. Keeping these small, important details as mementos of her loved ones. She feels that her father, sister, and mother are watching over her and she wants to make them proud.
Krista never thought grief would be that complicated, she was always the “I’ll be okay” kind of person. She felt she needed to stay strong for everyone else. For Krista, even realizing she needed counseling was hard. But once she got there, she learned so much.
“Knowing what I know now, I would tell anyone that has experienced a loss to go to counseling. In fact, don’t walk, RUN to counseling!” she emphasizes.
Grief …
… is complex … is a unique journey …cannot be avoided …has no time frame…can be just as hard years later, if not harder. Counseling support can help.
Counseling is a safe place where you can share your most intimate, private feelings and thoughts without judgement. “It’s not just about grief and sadness. When you lose someone, you can also carry around anger, guilt, and many other emotions that counseling can help you process,” says Krista. “I felt so safe sharing my feelings and thoughts with the counselor. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her,” says Krista.
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The Samaritan Center for Grief offers a wide variety of resources for those coping with grief. Click here to to find the grief resource for you.
The Samaritan Center for Grief Support offers free community support groups. Find one that fits your needs.