Arranging a funeral for a loved one who has died can be enormously stressful. Here are two steps you can take to keep stress to a minimum during this difficult time.

Ask for help

The process of arranging a funeral is far more complex than most people realise. It involves a lot of liaising with people (such as florists and priests) and a great deal of paperwork. When you're in the midst of grieving the loss of someone you cared about, this type of work can feel overwhelming.

If you're feeling emotionally fragile and are concerned that taking care of every element of the funeral arrangements will send your stress levels soaring, then it's important to ask for help. The best person to seek assistance from in this situation is the director of the funeral home you have chosen.

A funeral director who has arranged dozens upon dozens of funeral services will have the experience and the expertise needed to guide you through this challenging process. 

They can offer advice when it comes to making decisions regarding the casket, the flower arrangements, the music and the transportation of the body. They can also clarify the more complex elements of the paperwork you will need to fill out.

Having a supportive and knowledgeable person helping you with the funeral arrangements should help to reduce your stress levels so that you can focus on saying goodbye to your loved one.

Avoid perfectionism

When someone you love passes away, it is completely natural to want to make sure that their funeral is as perfect as possible. However, it's important not to get too carried away with making sure every aspect of the service is perfect.

The reason for this is as follows; if you put too much pressure on yourself to arrange a perfect funeral when you're already devastated by your loved one's death, you could end up extremely stressed out, potentially to the point where you are no longer mentally or emotionally capable of handling the arrangements.

Additionally, your perfectionism could also distract you from the most important purpose of the funeral service (i.e. mourning the loss of the person who has died, and saying goodbye to them).

If for example, you allow yourself to fixate on minor imperfections such as the wilting funeral flowers or the fact that the wrong hymns were played at the service, you could end up missing out on the opportunity to bid farewell to your loved one. This is something which you may end up regretting at a later stage.

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