I just lost my wife of 26 years

Family, Education, Health and Pets
21
Yes, my understanding too.

22
Mine also

23
They are just being kind and offering to meet you for lunch and a chat!

24

I’m so sorry about the loss of your beloved wife. May your memories be a blessing. I lost my husband six months ago, and while I found zero English-speaking counselors in the Zurich area with availability, this woman and the services she offers are an excellent starting place.

Esther Bühler-Weidmann
https://www.dherberg.ch/

She speaks excellent English. I haven’t used her services beyond what she offered during our crisis, but she might be a place to start.

25
Hello there,

I am so sorry for your loss. Have been married for 15 years and cannot imagine to feel what that feels like.

For counseling support you could try Betterhelp.com - you can find a counsellor immediately and they also do chat support which is nice when you are in a crisis as don't have to wait the next session. It will not be covered by insurance here but then again, it's much cheaper that any local offer.

Might be a way to start quickly.

K

26

My odd comment..........

Well you say you don't have many friends in Zurich so i said i would invite you for lunch one day in Zurich, not so sure what is so odd about that really !

(I'll need a few days notice as i'll have to come from Geneva) but if you find it so odd, fine, let's forget about it !

27
Yes, but since she is an expert in the field, perhaps she knows just who to send you to to help medically? (I see both non medical and medical therapists ... sometimes medical just gives you medicine and doesn't help much with the actual issue beyond basic advice.)

She lost her young child and definitely knows how to help ... I can reach out to her if you would like?

28
As I see from the numerous reactions I guess I misread your comment, and I apologize.

If you're ever in Zürich let me know. I definitely have a lot of time on my hands nowadays (too much).

29
Yes that would be kind of you. Just let me know what you need.

30

Sorry to hear of your loss.

I think everybody deals with this in their own way, but I think the common theme is that it simply takes time to process. I found that talking to others who had a similar experience helped. But otherwise it just took time. Time to feel it, time to process it, time to understand it, time to accept it, time to move forward.

I wish you the best. Coincidentally, I saw this link today:

https://psyche.co/ideas/seeing-griev…ess-takes-time

31

@Chris5
I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. Although it isn’t the same experience, after losing my parent, an online service was provided by my employer at the time called Better Help. I was able to connect with someone, and we met virtually for three appointments. I found the service helpful and accessible. It’s a good option if you find you want to start the process as soon as possible.

“BetterHelp has a large network of accredited psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, and licensed professional counselors across the U.S. and internationally, ready to support you through therapy in the format of your choosing within moments of signing up.”

www.betterhelp.com

All my best to you.

32
Exactly this. I'm not a huge fan of Biro, but in this instance he's doing something decent.

33
Just be ready for your life being messed up for a while, and maybe return to being functional in 6-12 months.

Tom

34
Americans and Canadians rarely use this phrase and I suspect many don't really understand its meaning. I'm still grateful to my friend from Leeds (who has sadly also passed away) for explaining British phrases such as:

Fancy a drink?

I'm not bothered

I can't be bothered

I was sat ...

and many other delightful linguistic idiosyncrasies.