(Extract from Mind publication "Understanding Bereavement")

Losses are a part of life.  When we are bereaved by the death of someone close to us, this is probably the most severe loss we shall have to cope with.

Death is often hidden from daily life.  More people now die in hospital than ever before.  Because someone's death involves painful feelings, it is not something which is discussed widely.  We may also avoid thinking too much about bereavement because we are brought face to face with the certainty of our own death.  For all these reasons, we may be unprepared for coping with bereavement when it happens to us.

The leaflet "Understanding Bereavement" explains what bereavement is and how you may feel when faced with the death of someone important in your life.  You may feel you are the only person who has felt the way you do.  It can help discover that what you are going through is a normal process shared by many others.  It is an important and necessary part of coming to terms with your loss.

When bereaved you may react in many ways, some physical, some emotional.  You may feel depressed, permanently exhausted, or full of aches and pains.

You may find it useful to think of bereavement as a wound, something from which you need time to recover, to allow to heal, in the same way as needed a period of convalescence after a major accident or illness.

The process of bereavement is something we all have to go through when someone dies.  Because we have formed an attachment to someone, when they are no longer alive we have to come to terms with this and to accept that, unless we believe in an afterlife, we will never see them again.

Bereavement is a highly individual experience.  It's important to remember that there is no right or wrong way to grieve.  People react to a bereavement in many different ways.  The important thing to remember is that grieving is a necessary part of recovery.

Topics also included in this leaflet are: