Bereavement is something that most people experience during their lives. When someone close to us dies, it is normal to grieve. Grief can be devastating, giving rise to feelings we did not expect. It can affect all aspects of our life at home and work, and our relationships with family and friends. We all react to bereavement in different ways, so it may be helpful to have some information about the effects of bereavement that many experience.

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At first you may feel frozen, even oddly calm and able to keep busy. Later, as reality sets in, you may swing to and fro between belief and disbelief. You may experience uncontrollable and unexpected emotions, which in fact are very common reactions following a bereavement.

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You may feel many conflicting emotions, including feeling desperate and depressed, feel you are losing control and have no sense of purpose or interest in life. Perhaps you feel guilty about things you did or didn’t do when the person was alive. You may experience overwhelming feelings of anger at anyone or everyone including the person who has died.

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Over a period of time, lighter moments will begin to appear. Besides feeling sad, the good moments get better and more frequent. In bereavement, many people find that they already have as much support in their lives as they need from family, friends and neighbours. However, some people may prefer to speak to someone from a professional organisation like Kingston Bereavement Service. 

Please visit: Kingston Bereavement Service 

Winston’s Wish were the UK’s first childhood bereavement charity and have been supporting grieving children and young people since 1992. They continue to lead the way in providing specialist child bereavement support services across the UK. Winston’s Wish provides emotional and practical bereavement support to children, young people and those who care for them. There expert teams offer one off and ongoing bereavement support and also provide online resources, specialist publications and training for professionals.                                

Please visit: Winston's Wish