A bereavement can be an extremely difficult time for people. Losing someone is incredibly painful and coping with grief following a bereavement or a loss, can feel overwhelming. There is no right or wrong way to grieve and for many, finding support through coping processes and allowing time to heal can help.
Bereavement Support
Here are some methods which may help you to cope with bereavement:
- Talk to someone – Talk to a friend, a family member, a professional or a counsellor. By sharing your thoughts, your feelings and memories, it could help to ease sadness and anxiety.
- Allow yourself to feel – Feel whatever you want to feel in the moment. Grief comes in waves and in all sorts of emotions from sadness to anger, happiness to guilt and even relief. Its ok to feel any of these emotions at any given time.
- Practise self-care – It’s important to look after yourself through times of grief as coping can feel exhausting. Try to get some sleep, eat and exercise when you can. Being outdoors in the natural air and just walking, can help to ease feelings of anxiety.
- Be kind to yourself – Don’t beat yourself up about emotions. Allow yourself to feel the pain and try to accept that it can take time to heal. Overcoming a bereavement doesn’t need to be rushed and being patient with yourself can help.
- Join a group – Sharing experiences and talking about grief with people who are going through similar experiences, can really help to ease the sadness.
- Consider counselling – Speak with a trained therapist will give you healthy coping skills which could help to alleviate the pain, especially if you are feeling ongoing anxiety, emptiness or depression.
- Honour their memory – By honouring their memory, it can bring comfort. Light a candle, celebrate their birthday or anniversary. Find photos or write a letter about your thoughts and feelings, and continue any traditions which you know they loved.
Here at Sandwell Advocacy, we offer the Bereavement and Wellbeing Service to support people in Birmingham who are affected by a bereavement. We also offer a talking service available through Sandwell Together. All of our services provide tailored and confidential support through emotional wellbeing and practical techniques. To find out more and to source support please contact us.