MENTAL HEALTH IN THE HEART OF MAUN

🌿 When someone you love dies, it’s not only their physical presence that’s lost. Something deeper may also begin to tremble — faith, hope, and the very sense of life’s meaning. Grief tests not only the heart but also the beliefs that once brought comfort. The questions that arise are far from simple: “Where are they now?” “Why did God allow this to happen?” “What’s the point of believing if the pain doesn’t stop?” This spiritual crisis is natural. It doesn’t mean a lack of faith — it’s a more honest and painful search for meaning. When life changes so abruptly, the soul needs time to reconcile faith with the experience of suffering. 🌧 When Faith Turns Into Doubt During loss, many people feel their connection with the divine weaken. What once was a source of comfort can now feel like silence. Prayers turn into questions, and answers seem to vanish. Some feel betrayed by God; others, simply empty. And while religious or social circles might urge them to “accept God’s wil...

🌿 When someone loses their spouse, their inner world falls apart—but so does their outer world. Suddenly, friends, neighbors, and even close relatives seem unsure of how to act. Some avoid the topic altogether; others try to cheer them up too quickly; and some, with the best of intentions, say things that unintentionally hurt. There’s no manual on how to comfort a grieving person, but anyone who’s lost someone can clearly sense one thing: the discomfort of others. That uneasy feeling when people don’t know what to say, how to look at you, or how to approach you. And in the middle of that discomfort, the widow or widower may end up feeling even more alone. 🌧 When Silence Becomes Distance After a loss, many people withdraw out of fear of “saying the wrong thing.” That distance, though well-intentioned, still hurts. The silence of others can feel like abandonment—right at the moment when companionship is most needed. Sometimes the grieving person stops being invited to gathe...

Blessed is the man who endures the test with strength, for when he has passed, he will receive the crown of life. (James 1:12) When facing suffering, the first step towards healthy attitudes is to overcome the pain in the circumstances and in the way that is necessary. This helps to avoid uncontrolled actions, which usually lead to unfavorable consequences. Intense suffering can cloud your judgment and put you at risk of making poor decisions. Self-control includes avoiding decisions until you are in the best possible mental state. - Don’t make decisions in moments of despair. - Avoid deciding in times of crisis. - Don’t respond to a letter when you’re hungry. Once you’ve reached this basic equilibrium, it’s important to focus on identifying the problems causing the suffering. - Understanding a problem is more than half of its solution. (José Martí) - There is no cure for an unknown ailment. Next, organize yourself to solve them. Make it a rule to move from suffering to identifying the...

You never forget someone important in your life; you just learn to live without them. Home Page  - Spanish - Setswana  As proposals for healthy attitudes towards grief, accepting the reality and irreversibility of the death of a loved one is crucial. - What was yesterday is not today. (Afro-Cuban proverb) - Accept what cannot be changed. Viewing crying and other cultural expressions to drain pain as normal and necessary behaviors after a great loss, rather than as signs of weakness or cowardice, is essential. True strength in the new reality consists of deciding and maintaining the decision to intelligently navigate through the different stages of grief, which includes seeking space with a minimum of privacy to vent by crying or talking, and seeking help if necessary. - Knowing how to suffer makes suffering less. - Shared sorrow is less sorrow. Forgiving oneself allows for remembering the deceased and thinking about their loss without feelings of guilt. - No one fulfills all t...

It is so hard for me to accept that you are gone. Home Page - Spanish - Setswana The loss of a loved one causes one of the most heartbreaking pains a human being can experience. Usually, it comes as a surprise because, no matter how deteriorated the deceased might have been, the love felt for them makes it extremely difficult to envision a fatal outcome. - Loving and knowing, both together cannot be.  Partly due to the surprise of the event or the demands of the wake and burial rituals, the levels of sadness are not as high immediately following the loss; rather, anger appears in the form of reproaches to the deceased for leaving and abandoning the mourner. But in the following days, a true avalanche of memories surfaces, dating back to the beginnings of the emotional bond with that loved one who is now physically gone. Positive aspects are magnified, negative ones are downplayed, and an immense pain sets in, against which the individual defends themselves by temporarily deny...