What Is Bereavement?
To be 'bereaved' means to lose someone we love through their death. It can result in a physical and emotional pain of missing the person who has died. Then people have to re-adjust their lives - sometimes even redefine themselves and who they are - where their place is now (without their partner, child, parent etc) within the world; and this can be the part that takes years. Bereavement can affect our lives in so many different ways.
Spiritually - sometimes people lose faith and maybe even lose a reason for their own 'being' and existence.
Emotionally - People never know if they are ever going to feel 'normal' again. The intense feelings of pain (grief) are overwhelming.
Physically - sometimes people feel ill all of the time; they can stop eating and sleeping; and many people can catch everything going which further lowers their emotional health.
Socially - Sadly, friends find it awkward to know when it is appropriate to invite people out for a social event especially when they become widows and widowers and this can lead to someone being overlooked, permanently.
How Can Grief Affect People?
Grief is the name given to the natural reactions we have after the death of someone. The recovery and healing process differs person to person - and can never be rushed - it has to happen as it happens.
When we're grieving, it's difficult to understand what's happening as we have feelings of bewilderment, anger, guilt, regret, disbelief, panic, confusion, exhaustion and a terrible sense that life will never be the same again. Some feel nothing but numbness or loneliness. Grief plays terrible tricks on us. You may cry all the time or even lose the ability to cry and that is confusing because everyone else around you is crying... and sometimes it almost seems that everyone else is coping so much better than you are.
Some people have terrifying thoughts - some too terrifying to verbalise - they fear their own death, a further loss in the family, a death of a friend. Some people think unspeakably morbid thoughts and end up beating themselves up over them.
The fact of the matter is this, irrational thoughts abound when we grieve. We feel like our lives will never be the same. Some go as far as thinking their own lives are also over.
Our promise to you is this. Life will get better.
It will NEVER be the same, but it WILL get better.
Eventually, you will feel stronger than you do now.
Please email us and we will be an ear for you. We cannot speed up the process of healing but we can listen to you as you make the journey. Sometimes, to know someone is listening to your story, is all we need.