Bereavement Care - Self-Help Guide

Self Help Guide

When a sibling dies • Siblings are often the forgotten grievers when the focus is on the parents or the siblings partner and possibly children. • The sense of losing a friend, siblings share common memories and childhood experiences which may not have been shared with anyone else. • There may be extra focus from parents on the surviving sibling which may be overwhelming. • It may cause feelings of ‘why them and not me’ sharing the same genetic background may cause fears of your own mortality. • It may be difficult to accept your sibling has died if they lived elsewhere and contact was limited, as the absence is normal it is harder to take in a permanent loss. • You may feel a responsibility to watch over nieces and nephews and this can be another change to adapt to.

When a friend dies • Friends are often of a similar age and background, making you view your own mortality differently when a friend dies. • The death of a friend can sometimes change the relationship with other friends. They may not know how to support you and feel distance is the best option. You may feel the need to distance yourself from friends as seeing them is a painful reminder of your loss. • Your friend may have been the person you went to in times of trouble and when you needed support through life’s trials, no longer having that friend can make you feel desperate and lonely having no one to turn to.

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