Bereavement and your health

One of a series of leaflets published by The Compassionate Friends Finding a counsellor: Many of us find it helpful to talk to a counsellor at some point, either through our GP or privately. This gives us an opportunity to explore our feelings without fear of upsetting anyone and without judgement. Some of us find it helpful to try complementary or alternative therapies such as mindfulness, massage, meditation and many others. See: Complementary and alternative medicine - NHS (www.nhs.uk) Family and friends: Some of us may withdraw socially for a time, preferring to grieve in solitude, but others will wish to have family and friends nearby to provide comfort. More problematically, some of us may feel isolated in our grief because friends and family have not been as supportive as we would have hoped. It may be that they cannot cope with our grief. If this is the case, we might need to look outside of our usual social circles for support at this time. Unavoidable circumstances, such as the pandemic, could also contribute to us being quite isolated in our grief. Online interaction might not be as good as in person, but it still offers a welcome respite from the loneliness of grief. See bit.ly/TCFOnline Finding the motivation to care for ourselves Our lives will never be the same after the death of our beloved child. It will take many months, and even years, to weave the experience into the fabric of our lives. During this long period of adjustment, there may be times when we lack the motivation for self-care. “Why bother?”, we may think. Still, we might remind ourselves that while there is so much in life we cannot control – including, crucially, what happened to our child – taking care of ourselves is something that is within our power. Caring for ourselves is one way of caring for our child’s memories. We hope that you have found reading this leaflet a helpful step in doing this.