Cultural Influences
American culture believe in forming independence and doing things alone, which can not be a bad idea at times, but may have some negative influences if done constantly. Resisting help when it is needed is pointless, in many cultures such as Israeli kibbutzim can easily accept the support of others with zero loss of self-esteem or feelings of depending on others. Make sure to use the support of groups in times of grief, stress, or loss of an inevitable part of life such as:
- Illness
- Family crisis
- Widow-hood
Something that is very useful is to use humor as an effective way of coping with the loss of something in one’s life. I like to refer as humor as an invisible bandage, because it has the abilities to heal people very effectively.