Recent losses in the Starkville community leave people dealing with grief

GOLDEN TRIANGLE (WCBI ) – Mississippi State football players are now dealing with two losses – first the death of teammate Sam Westmoreland, and now head coach Mike Leach.

Many are going to need help coping with the pain of those losses.

Grief is something that everyone experiences in their life, but most of us aren’t truly ready to handle it when it comes.

There are things you can do to help yourself or someone else when that time comes.

No one is ever truly ready to lose someone.

The pain of a recent loss is sometimes compounded.

For some like Mallory England, it can bring back memories of past grief.

“I have lost my great-granddad. I’ve lost a bunch of different people. People that I went to high school with have passed away and honestly, I feel like grief is something everybody handles differently,” said England.

England said she finds comfort in surrounding herself with others when experiencing grief.

Others, like Brian Hawkins, said it is important to remember the good things and the good times.

“I think the key thing to everybody is to remember everything that Coach Leach was. I mean he was a pirate, he had a way of looking at things like nobody else and I think that is what endeared them to a lot of our fans and to our community because he was that kind of off-beat, had that off-beat way of looking at life, ” said Hawkins.

Mobile Crisis Response Team coordinator, Chiquita Holmes has some advice for helping people when they are experiencing grief.

“One of the things that I think is important is respecting the boundaries when someone has suffered a loss and maybe asking them what it is that they need. You know maybe they don’t know exactly what they need. We don’t always say the right things when people experience loss, so sometimes just being there and maybe saying something to them like I don’t know exactly how you feel, but I am here to support you,” said Holmes.

For others, grief can be the push to continue to live their lives to the fullest.

“Experiencing that grief and that loss can make you really start to reflect on where you want to be, what things you want to accomplish, ” said Holmes.

It is always important to remember that healing is never linear, and everyone copes with grief differently.

If you or someone you know is struggling with grief, it may be time to speak to a grief counselor.

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