Life is full of up’s and down’s, good days and bad, successes and failures. We’ve all had days from which we thought our hearts would never recover.

Anyone who has ever experienced grief knows how utterly gut-wrenching it is, and how it takes every ounce of strength you can muster to help your broken heart to heal. Grieving is not a process to be rushed or to be avoided, it will take its own time. Eventually it will fade, and you will find a new way to be feel happiness. You will never be the same again, but you will be okay.

No matter how qualified a person is, how many books they’ve read or respected a professional they are, only someone who has lived through grief can really understand it, and identify with others who have also grieved for a loved one.

Unfortunately, Niamh Fitzpatrick, is one of those people. Niamh is a psychologist with many years experience and is well known to listeners of Todayfm. Last year, Niamh was devastated when her beloved sister Dara passed away. Dara was the captain of Rescue 116, the helicopter which crashed in March 2017, who has been hailed as a hero for her courage. Since her passing, Niamh herself has shown tremendous courage and is also, in our eyes, a hero.

Some things in Life cannot be fixed, they can only be carried

In October Niamh was invited to speak at Zeminar, an amazing event for young people and our dear friends. Niamh, very bravely decided to dig deep, and share her own story. Still very raw and very heartbroken, Niamh shared with the audience how she herself has managed to cope, and gave 7 steps to help face those dark and painful days.

1: When hard times hit, face it head on.

2: Let yourself cry

3: Deal with facts

4: Focus only on whats in front of you

5: Focus on what you can control

6: Gather support around you

7: Take care of yourself

Please watch Niamh’s amazing speech here:

Thanks Zeminar for sharing this, if you get a chance to go this year, please do x

Also, in case you didn’t know. The Shona Project is also inspired by a sister story, you can read it here. 💖💖💖💖