Staying Healthy in Bereavement

Bereavement is losing someone dear to you in death. Losing someone close to you is an inevitable part of life – that doesn’t make it any easier when it happens, even if the death is expected. Every loss is different, and bereavement can affect everyone in different ways. There are some feelings that are common after the death of someone close.You might experience: •Shock,•Disbelief,•Anxiety•Helplessness•Emptiness•Sadness•Anger•Fear• Guilt You might have mixed feelings after a loss – this can be confusing. You can also have “physical symptoms” of grief or bereavement such as fatigue, nausea,  infection,  weight loss or weight gain,  aches and pains and  insomnia Experiencing any of these is normal. Nobody can tell you how to feel – and you can’t tell yourself how to feel – there is no way you “should” feel after a loss. The sadness of losing someone you love never goes away completely, but the feeling of grief normally become less intense over time, and let you carry on with your life. It can be hard to imagine this in the early stages after a loss Bereavement affects people in different ways. There’s no right or wrong way to feel. “You might feel a lot of emotions at once, or feel you’re having a good day, then you wake up and feel worse again,” Powerful feelings can come unexpectedly. “It’s like waves on a beach. You can be standing in water up to your knees and feel you can cope, then suddenly a big wave comes and knocks you off your feet.”  Experts generally accept that there are four stages of bereavement 1.acceptingthatyourlossisreal2.experiencingthepainofgrief3.adjustingtolifewithoutthepersonwhohasdied4. putting less emotional energy into grieving and putting it into something new (in other words, moving on)You’ll probably go through all these stages, but you won’t necessarily move smoothly from one to the next. Your grief might feel chaotic and out of control, but these feelings will eventually become less intense. Give yourself time, as they will pass. You might feel: • shock and numbness (this is usually the first reaction to the death, and people often speak of Source: Thisday