L27 A Siblings Grief for young Adults C13R1404

One of a series of leaflets published by The Compassionate Friends There are quite a few charities that offer listening support, by phone, chat or text. Here are a few websites that might be useful: • Samaritans – call free on 116 123 • Shout 85258 - free, 24/7 mental health text support in the UK • CruseChat | Chat with a Trained Bereavement Counsellor • Hope Again (Cruse for young people) • Mind , the mental health charity Coping with sudden death Our sibling’s death might have been sudden. It could have been the result of a road traffic incident. They could have been the victim of crime, or died as a result of their own actions. Their death could have been natural but unexpected. The way they died could affect how we grieve. We may feel anger towards them for the choices they have made (if they have died from a drug overdose or by suicide, for example), which can then make us feel guilty. This is normal. It does not mean that we love them any less or that we will always feel anger towards them. We might struggle to relate to our parents if they feel guilty, angry or judgemental about the way our sibling died, such as from drug use or other behaviour they disapproved of. We might find it hard to support our parents if their outlook is very different to our own. We might know things about our sibling that our parents did not realise. It might take some time before we are able to discuss this with our parents.