The best way to help someone who is grieving is to pick up the phone and call or text them, Lunchtime Live Andrea Gilligan has said. 

Andrea's father's anniversary is this week and each year she takes the day off. 

“For me personally, I know it’s a day where I won’t give my best,” she said. 

“So, I take it as an annual leave day and I’ll do something this evening and maybe it’s just to find a distraction, forced fun or whatever you want.

“I’ll have a drink and toast my Dad and funnily, he didn’t drink but that’s my way of marking the occasion. 

“There’s no right and there’s no wrong way to do this.” 

Christmas time, with all the memories of family and fun that go with it, is often a hard time for the bereaved. Try as they might, it is often too hard not to focus on the person who is missing.

ENAWF6 Christmas street decorations at night, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Europe.

For Andrea, the best thing someone can do to help is reach out. 

“For the friends and the colleagues that are out there, who maybe just want to reach out to somebody, whether it’s in their office or an old friend, who has gone through this. 

“I would say, do send them that message because the one thing people always say to me, ‘I was going to text you but I didn’t want to text you because I didn’t want to upset you.’ 

“But the chances are it’s already on the person’s mind, they’re already dealing with it. 

“So, if you’re thinking about texting somebody who is going through grief or grieving at Christmas, do it. 

“Pick up the phone, drop them a message, it doesn’t need to be a big long winded thing and they’ll appreciate it. 

“It will never be noticed that you didn’t text but people do really appreciate it when you do.”

Main image: Andrea Gilligan.