Grieving the Death of Our Child During the Coronavirus Pandemic

UK Helpline: 0345 123 2304 | www.tcf.org.uk us feeling calmer afterwards. Many people find that being in green spaces, even for a few minutes, is calming. Above all, we should be kind to ourselves. This means not only taking physical care, but also allowing ourselves time and space to grieve. We will need to face our grief and this includes allowing ourselves to cry if we wish to, expressing our emotions loudly, or sitting in quietness, if that is what we prefer. Having patience with ourselves is one of the most important elements of being kind to ourselves. We should not feel under pressure to ‘keep busy’ or ‘pull ourselves together’ when our hearts are breaking. This is probably the greatest tragedy we have faced in our entire lives. Eventually we will find our feet in life again, but there is no timescale for this. In moments of crisis, if our grief feels unbearable or we simply need to unload, we could speak to Samaritans on 116 123 . This is a free helpline, available 24 hours a day. See: www.samaritans.org Adjusting to the painful reality of life without our child Finding ways of managing our daily lives in light of our child’s absence is a real challenge for many of us. It is difficult to watch the world continue as usual, whilst we are missing our child and our family is incomplete. If we have other caring or work responsibilities, it may be difficult to get up each day. For those without such obligations, finding any motivation to do anything at all can be a challenge. It is important not to put any undue pressures on ourselves and to try to take each day as it comes. For many parents, it is important to do things that help keep our child’s memory alive. This could be from something simple such as sorting photos or lighting a candle, to more elaborate activities such as creating a memorial website or replanting a