SIBBS Newsletter, Winter 2022

SIBBS Newsletter, Winter 2022 | www.tcf.org.uk 4 After a loved one dies, you may experience a range of different emotions. You may be struggling to cope with them, thinking that you should be feeling a certain way, or mourning for a set amount of time. But grief is an intensely individual process. Whatever you are feeling, it is an entirely valid way to grieve. This is true even if you are not feeling much of anything at all. It is not uncommon to experience numbness during grief: emotionally blank and disconnected from the world around you. Many people who go through this worry that they are not properly processing their emotions, or they feel guilty because they are unable to cry or otherwise show an emotional response to their loss. It is often difficult to shake the sense that you’re supposed to be feeling things more intensely, rather than less. Religion, culture, upbringing, and more all shape our ideas of bereavement and make us think there is a specific way to feel and act when someone close to you has died. But numb grief isn’t proof that you don’t care as much as someone who grieves for a loved one in an openly emotional way — and it definitely doesn’t mean you loved them any less. It’s good to remember that your relationship with the person who died was unique, and so the way you grieve this person will also be unique. If feeling numb is part of your individual grieving process, try to let go of the need to judge yourself and let the emotions come when and how they will. Search: ‘feeling numb after someone you love dies empathy.com ’ to read the full article. Feeling numb after someone you love dies