Tips for young widows include practical, emotional, and financial strategies for coping with grief and the loss of your spouse. The healing process requires that you go through the steps of grief and experience a revelatory moment that gets you fortified to begin putting your life back together.

A study found that the death of a spouse generated real risks of mental health issues that accompany grief. Those include anxiety, trauma, stress, and depression, which are often expressed as physical disorders. The following four tips can spark a return to normalcy after losing your spouse.

1. Take Control of Your Life

You’ll discover that taking control of your life is the most proactive way of dealing with loss. That means handling financial issues and protecting your health — both physical and mental. 

Steps for taking control of your life after the death of a spouse include:

• Set daily goals
• Engage with friends, and start new conversations and activities
• Accept that some questions remain unresolved
• Try to be more open to the unknown without letting fear paralyze you
• Pick at least one bad habit you have, and try to change it
• Don’t be afraid to pursue a new career during this time of change
• Try to eat a sensible diet, get exercise, and take care of your health

2. Understand That It’s Okay To Love Again

Of course, you don’t want to disrespect your spouse, but you need to understand that it’s acceptable and expected that you’ll find love again. Young widows have most of their lives ahead of them, and closing out all romantic options just sinks you deeper in depression. You don’t want to go overboard, but recognize that after 6 months or a year, you can begin considering going out on a date without guilt.

3. Heal by Helping Others

You can heal by helping your children deal with the death of a loved one. This can be a confusing time for them but you can use the following steps in helping your children cope with death:

• Actively listen to the children, and hear what they’re saying and not saying
• Offer plenty of comfort, and don’t be afraid to show your own sadness
• Learn to put emotions into words that kids understand, and encourage them to express their own emotions
• Let the children know what to expect in their new lives because some changes are inevitable
• Reassure kids that their own routines will ensure adequate care and love — such as finding someone to take them to extracurricular activities, the park, ball games, etc.

4. Actively Manage Your Finances

If you haven’t managed the family finances before, it’s time to start doing so. There are many important decisions to be made, and you might need to budget your finances more carefully. If the estate is large, it’s important to hire an attorney or business advisor. 

Try to resist well-meaning advice from relatives over financial matters. It’s your life and your finances, and you should be aware of what you have, your investments and your budgetary limits.

Practical Matters Include Facing Your Legal Issues Promptly

Handling the legal issues related to your spouse’s death often seems like the last thing you need to worry about, but practically speaking, you should shift these matters to the top of your list. 

It might be necessary to file a lawsuit for wrongful death or apply for insurance compensation to safeguard your future. Losing a partner at a young age brings a host of issues that must be dealt with in order to survive comfortably or make the necessary changes to do so.

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