Bereavement and your health

One of a series of leaflets published by The Compassionate Friends If our sleep problems persist, we may find ourselves overtired and less able to manage our grief. It can help to speak with our doctor about this. Sometimes a course of natural treatment or sleeping pills might help us get back into a better sleep pattern. How grief might affect our mental health We may be expecting to feel tearful and emotional, but other changes in our mental health might take us by surprise. We may not be able to concentrate or remember things as we usually do. Some of us experience ‘brain fog’ and struggle to recall memories, especially those of happier times. We may experience tension and feel stressed. Some of us may become more anxious. It could be that our feelings are intense. For instance, we may feel incredibly angry about what has happened. On the other hand, we may feel lethargic and numb, and have no interest in dealing with anything. Some of us start to feel depressed. We may feel guilty that we are alive and our child is not. We may find that we behave differently to the ways we have done in the past. Our reactions to even minor issues might surprise us. We could dissolve into tears at the slightest problem, or be irritated and impatient with other people. We may want to be alone to process what has happened, whereas normally we would want company, or vice versa. If we had prior mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, these might be made worse. If this continues, we may need to speak with our doctor. We may experience suicidal thoughts. This could be a generalised feeling of not seeing a point in continuing living, but it could be more extreme in that we actively wish to end our lives. If this is how we feel, we should seek urgent help. The Samaritans helpline is available 24 hours a day: call 116 123 . (See more about this below under the heading Accepting help .)