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Bereavement

Bereavement

Page written and resources collated by Emily Wheeler, Senior Wellbeing Practitioner

Bereavement is the experience of losing someone important to us. It is characterised by grief, which is the process and the range of emotions we go through as we gradually adjust to the loss. Losing someone important to us can be emotionally devastating - whether that be a partner, family member, friend or pet. It is natural to go through a range of physical and emotional processes as we gradually come to terms with the loss. Bereavement affects everyone in different ways, and it's possible to experience any range of emotions. There is no right or wrong way to feel. Feelings of grief can also happen because of other types of loss or changes in circumstances, for example:

  • the end of a relationship
  • the loss of a job
  • moving away to a new location
  • a decline in the physical or mental health of someone we care about

After any loss you may also feel what is known as 'secondary loss'. After the initial shock of losing a loved one you may struggle when thinking of future experiences that those people will not be there to share or see, such as watching your children grow up, meeting partners or attending key life events like weddings.

There is no time limit on grief, and this varies hugely person to person. The time spent in a period of bereavement will be different for everybody and depends on factors such as the type of relationship, the strength of attachment or intimacy to the person who died, the situation surrounding their death, and the amount of time spent anticipating the death.

Wellbeing Group Sessions

Bereavement and Me

How to live with grief. Talk with others about loss in a relaxed way. 

Low mood and Me

Build motivation, boost mood. Manage your low mood, don't let it manage you.


Togetherall - Online courses

Togetherall is an online mental health community with a wealth of resources - available free to all staff and students.   To access resources from Togetherall you need to register for an account here . You will only need to do this once. This will allow you to access many of the tools on our site.

Coping with grief and loss

Managing depression and low mood

Improve your sleep


Videos

Grounding Techniques

Techniques to manage strong emotions, where you may feel overwhelmed, including stress.

Box Breathing Technique

A simple technique to help you to manage your breathing, and calm your stress levels or anxiety.

Podcasts and audio resources

Grief works

Death affects us all. Yet it is still the last taboo in our society, and grief is profoundly misunderstood. Hosted by Julia Samuel – a grief psychotherapist with over twenty five years’ experience of working with the bereaved – we hear stories from those who have experienced great love and loss – and survived.

Grief encounters

Grief Encounters is a weekly podcast series that looks at an issue that affects us all and yet remains so difficult to talk about: grief. Hosts Venetia Quick and Sasha Hamrogue hope to open up the conversation around loss and create a modern platform for people to share their own experiences, and start an open dialogue around the subject of death and all that comes with it.

Griefcast

Griefcast is a podcast that examines the human experience of grief and death - but with comedians, so it’s cheerier than it sounds.


Articles

To read some of these articles and other resources on our site you will need to The process is quick and you only need to do it once.


Downloadable resources

Royal Institute of Psychiatry

NHS Coping with Bereavement

Mind Bereavement

IAPT self help guide

Help is at hand - for those bereaved by suicide


Places to get help

Local and national organisations and websites.

Resource

Description

 

Cruse help people through one of the most painful times in life – with bereavement support, information and campaigning.

 

The Good Grief Trust is providing vital resources for people experiencing bereavement, offering comfort, practical support and the knowledge that they are not alone.

 

This registered charity aims to give every child and young person access to the best possible support following the death of someone close.

 Let's Talk About Loss is a support network for young people aged 18-35 who have been bereaved. Together, we're talking through the taboo.

 

Hospice UK’s Dying Matters campaign is working with you to create an open culture in which we’re comfortable talking about death, dying and bereavement.


Reading for Wellbeing

Facing Grief - Bereavement and the Young by Susan Walbank

"[Susan Wallbank] writes with great insight and compassion, yet deals with the sensitive and often complex aspects of grief in a direct style which makes this book very readable." Cruse Chronicle "A very clearly set-out compendium of wisdom on all aspects of dealing with a death of someone close ... Altogether a very useful tool ..." European Christian Bookstore Journal "All counsellors would greatly benefit from reading this handbook and having it available for reference ... Its practical advice goes far beyond the good publications which are available on 'what to do when someone dies'." Christian Herald

Through Grief - the bereavement journey by Elizabeth Collick

Elizabeth Collick, herself a widow, writes out of her own experience and that of many others to describe what happens, in the hope that it may bring strenght and support to those in grief. She writes of the yearning ache, the strange fears, the anger, guilt, frustration, loneliness and lostness which makes up bereavement. The book does not seek to soothe pain, but to help people 'come through' to life on the far side of grief. The book is also helpful to professional carer - nurses, ministers, doctors, social workers and others - and to reletives, friends, neighbours and colleages of someone suffering bereavement.

Grief works by Julia Samuel

Death is the last taboo in our society, and grief is still profoundly misunderstood. So many of us feel awkward and uncertain around death, and shy away from talking honestly with family and friends. 'Grief Works' is a compassionate guide that will inform and engage anyone who is grieving, from the 'expected' death of a parent to the sudden unexpected death of a small child, and provide clear advice for those seeking to comfort the bereaved.


Grief works

Headspace

Meditation, mindfulness, relaxation.