How to Deal Emotionally With a Cremation

Cremation has become a popular form of burial as the ashes can be kept or released for a sentimental closure. This is also less expensive than a traditional burial. However, there are religious implications and personal feelings to consider when deciding on cremation for yourself or a loved one. Use these steps to learn more about cremation and how to deal emotionally with the loss of someone and their cremation.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Consider what the deceased person would have wanted. If she chose cremation specifically, respect her wishes and be comforted in knowing you are doing as she wanted. If she left no request but never spoke of being opposed to cremation, you can consider it as an option.
2. Think about other family members when deciding upon cremation. There may be cultural, religious, regional or generational feelings against cremation and these need to be respected even if you do not agree with them. Dealing with grief after losing a loved one is difficult enough without adding anger or fear to the family's emotional load.
3. Embrace the memories of the person you lost: his personality, his hobbies, his charity work and how he was as a friend or loved one. Regardless of how the person's remains are handled, either through burial of a body in a casket or through incineration of the remains, remember that the person you knew and loved no longer dwells in that body and doesn't need it any more.
4. Take the remains somewhere the deceased person loved and scatter them there. Visit the beach, the forest, or any other favorite place where there were good memories and lots of laughter. Scatter her ashes at this spot to leave her somewhere peaceful and serene and take a few moments for a brief memorial service to honor her memory.
5. Purchase a beautiful urn to hold the remains and place it in a place of honor in your home. Some people find comfort in knowing part of their loved one is still with them every day. This can help in the grief process. If there comes a time when you are ready to fully let the person go, you can always scatter or bury the ashes at a later date.
6. Use the opportunity to explain death to children without the trauma of viewing, then burying a body, which can be confusing to children in a time of grief. Think of cremation and scattering of ashes in the Biblical sense - "ashes to ashes and dust to dust."

Tips & Warnings

• Consider the trend of cremation with 54% of males and 49% of females being cremated out of all 2004 deaths.
• Keep in mind the cost efficiency of cremation. Most cremations, in which a simple box is used for the body, cost thousands of dollars less than the average cost of a full-blown funeral with a coffin and plot in a cemetery. If you are burying the remains rather than scattering them, the size of the plot needed is considerably smaller and less expensive than a full plot.