At times of grief, you yearn for some support to clasp onto. Anyone who cares for you can help you overcome the grief. There is not much wonder when blood-relations support you during times of grief. Such a help and support becomes worthy of being admired when u get helped and supported by a person born elsewhere, brought up in some other social background and having no expectations but your affection-A Friend.

When the happy moments are shared,happiness multiplies and when the grievous moments are shared,the grief simplifies and finally becomes minuscule.Even grief becomes a way of bringing friends closer to each other.In fact more than happiness,it is grief,when shared that brings a closeness among friends.

So how do you support a friend who is grieving?

Find out the mind set of the friend: This is the most important aspect to be considered. Sometimes, the friend may not be in a mindset to express the grief. So it is better to leave him/her alone for a certain span of time.Sometimes,your friend might show symptoms of anger or irritation when all your motive is just helping them out.Under such circumstances,stay come and just ignore it because it is none but your Buddy.

Ensure that he/she does not take wrong decisions: At the same time, make sure they do no feel deserted and having suicidal intentions.
For this, a mere line,
"Now I leave you alone because you prefer silence. But always remember, I'm there for you and living for you." would suffice such intentions.

Ask him/her the reason for the grief: When the friend has calmed down to a certain extent,tell him to speak out freely. Now find out the grief.

Speak positively to the friend: Speak in an encouraging and optimistic manner. At that point of time, even if you realize that you're friend is wrong and is the sole cause of his/her own grief, do not pin-point their mistakes. Tell it gradually, after they feel that you are there to support them.

Find out means to alleviate the grief: This could be explained with an example. If a friend had expected a high score in an exam but happened to score lesser than that, first find if they are weak in any aspect of the subject. Then set out by making him/her aware of his weaknesses.

At the end, what I wish to convey is, "Caring and reassuring words can raise the confidence of a grieving friend and will encourage hi/her to keep going".

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