Coping With The Loss of a Loved One
- Actress Lynn Herring Northrop says her support system of friends and costars on the long-running soap opera “General Hospital” have helped her cope following her husband Wayne Northrop’s passing on November 29, 2024.
- Northrop passed away at age 77 due to complications of the Alzheimer’s disease, which he was diagnosed with an early onset six years before his passing.
- Grief is a difficult and truly personal process, something Herring has shown. Some find solace in vulnerability and sharing how they feel with others.
- While working through grief and vulnerable tackling of the emotions that accompany it, some find tools like therapy to be helpful. Support groups can also be a benefit for those who are feeling isolated in their feelings of grief. Faith can also be a powerful coping mechanism for some.
- Whichever methods of support you look for after losing a loved one, you should know that there is no correct way to grieve. There is no perfect timeline for grieving, either.
Herring’s late husband, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease six years before his death, passed away at age 77 due to complications of the disease.
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More recently, ahead of the May 20th Nurse Ball on “General Hospital,” Herring, who plays Lucy Coe, told TV Insider, “I was thrilled when I heard what was going to go on and the different musical numbers.
“And the main thing, I think, for folks, is that there are two really wonderful stories that are dramatic that come to a head at the ball. Sometimes we haven’t had as much drama, and this one is good.”
Expert Resources On Coping With Loss
- How to Handle the Emotional Toll of Caring for a Loved One With Cancer: Prioritizing Your Mental Health
- Mental Health: Understanding the Three Wellsprings of Vitality
- How to Be Realistically Optimistic: Coping With Mental Health Long-Term
- Dealing With Grief Related to Health Problems
- Mental Health: Coping With Feelings of Anger
- SN & You Presents Mental Health: Coping With Emotions
As for how her costars have helped her more recently, since her husband’s passing, Herring told TV Insider, “You really can’t let other thoughts invade your mind because you’re problem solving and being creative.
“GH helped me so much, because you get there, and we have such a good group.”
She continued, “They’ve all been my friends for so long, so you feel like you’re coming back to family, and you crack jokes, and they just treat me like everything’s the same.
“It’s a total escapism to get away from any sad thoughts.”
Wayne has always been the Man of my Dreams and now he will always be the Man in my Dreams. No one navigates a loss alone & all of your love & kindness helps Hank, Grady & I take this journey Thank you especially our @GeneralHospital & @DaysPeacock family pic.twitter.com/zG4ey1xAAc
— Lynn Herring (@TheLynnHerring) December 3, 2024
Herring added, “I have to tell you, sitting around the tables at the Nurses Ball, that was the warmest feeling, too. A lot of times I’m running around changing, but this year I got to stay a little bit more.
“Tanisha [Harper, Jordan Ashford], I didn’t know her very well, and Josh Kelly [Cody Bell] and I had gone to Graceland [for GH‘s annual fall fan event], but he came up to me and he said, ‘Lynn, this is like doing summer theater where we actually get to know each other and we’re all pulling together. I didn’t know half these people very well, and now with this week I do.'”
“I don’t think that Frank [Valentini, executive producer] and Chris and Elizabeth realize that they’re writing this great show for the audience, but it gives the actors such an opportunity to be a team,” she said.
Moving Through Grief
Grief is a difficult, truly personal process, something Herring has shown. Some find solace in vulnerability and sharing how they feel with others.
Therapy Saved My Life’: After Losing A Loved One, Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
While working through grief and vulnerable tackling of the emotions that accompany it, some find tools like therapy to be helpful. Support groups can also be a benefit for those who are feeling isolated in their feelings of grief, as can turning to faith.
Whichever methods of support you look for after cancer loss, you should know that there is no correct way to grieve. There is no perfect timeline for grieving, either.
Surviving the Loss of a Partner
Fighting your own cancer battle is one of the toughest experiences in life; watching the disease take someone you love is a different kind of pain. In some cases, a spouse with cancer can take proactive steps to talk about what might come after.
John Duberstein, who lost his wife, writer Nina Riggs, to metastatic triple negative breast cancer told SurvivorNet that while he was watching her suffer from the disease, he couldn’t help but wish things could go back to normal — but Riggs had already embraced her new normal.
RELATED: The Toughest Conversations: Losing a Spouse to Cancer
“I really wanted things to go back to normal, whatever that meant,” Duberstein said. “She was not for that. She wanted to embrace the existence that she had, even before she knew she was going to die imminently. I did not want to talk about what was going to happen with me after Nina died. Nina is the one that really brought it up, she brought it up a number of times.”
Duberstein explained that even with the pain of losing his wife, and even though he didn’t want to talk about it at the time, he’s so glad they had those seemingly uncomfortable conversations. “In retrospect, I can’t even explain how glad I am that I had that.”
This is a reminder that having those uncomfortable and painful conversations with your partner can be fundamental to your well-being as you move forward in the grieving process, alleviating the guilt felt in starting to date again, and/or eventually marry.
Finding Support Through a Health Battle, or Loss of a Loved One
Feeling support from a friends, loved ones, or coworkers can help you express your feelings and maintain a positive attitude during a your own, or a loved one’s health battle or the aftermath of losing someone.
Licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin previously wrote for SurvivorNet, that it’s “important that you surround yourself with individuals who care and support you throughout your treatment,” which she said can be an “arduous chapter.”
That being said, it’s very important to know your limits on what you can handle during treatment.
“Going through treatment is a very vulnerable and emotionally exhausting experience,” she wrote. “Noticing what you have strength for and what is feeling like too much extremely important to pay attention to as you navigate treatment.”
It is important cancer warriors in the midst of their fight to have a strong support system. So how can you support a loved on in your life who is fighting cancer? SurvivorNet suggests multiple ways you can do so.
Your Support System Matters Jill Kargman on Getting Through Cancer With Support from Friends
Dr. Shelly Tworoger, a researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center told SurvivorNet that “there’s a number of common things cancer patients can experience, such as anxiety, depression, financial toxicity, social isolation and sometimes even PTSD.” So helping to ease those feelings is a great way to support your loved one.
You can help complete household chores or running errands during the day, which your loved one may not have the time or energy to do. Or, you can simply lend an ear so patients can talk through their feelings, which can help them cope with what they are experiencing during this difficult time.
Meanwhile, there are some practical tips to help you interact with your loved one in a meaningful way. Our experts suggest to avoid asking how you can help. Instead, be proactive and offer tangible things you can do for them to make their lives easier. That could include bringing them food, cooking them dinner or playing a board game with them, anything that will bring them joy.
It’s important to understand that a support system can be made up of loved ones like family and friends. It can also be comprised of strangers who have come together because of a shared cancer experience. Mental health professionals can also be critical parts of a support system.
WATCH: Sharing details about your cancer diagnosis.
“Some people don’t need to go outside of their family and friend’s circle. They feel like they have enough support there,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik told SurvivorNet.
“But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it’s important to reach out to a mental health professional,” Dr. Plutchik added.
Dr. Plutchik also stressed it is important for people supporting cancer warriors to understand their emotions can vary day-to-day.
“People can have a range of emotions, they can include fear, anger, and these emotions tend to be fluid. They can recede and return based on where someone is in the process,” Dr. Plutchik said.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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