Bereavement Support

Grief and loss

When someone close to you dies, your life is changed in many ways. The time of bereavement following a death is a time to adjust to these changes.

Grief is our natural response to loss in our lives. Everyone grieves differently and there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Men and women often show their grief in different ways, and sometimes find it hard to understand or support each other. People of different ages and cultures have different ways of grieving as well.

Some things you might feel:

–          Shocked or numb

–          Angry

–          Depressed or lonely

–          Resentful

–          Guilty

–          Confused and forgetful

–          Overwhelmed

–          Frightened and panicky

Most people feel grief in their bodies as well, especially in the first weeks. You may feel exhausted, cold, tense and shaky. You might find it hard to sleep, or feel sick and have trouble eating. These things are common reactions to grief, but if you are worried, or having long periods of sleep deprivation, or not eating, please talk to your doctor.

How long does it take?

Grief is more individual than a series of stages to go through. As times goes by, you find ways to live with your loss, rather than getting over it. You might find it hard for a long time, but it wont always feel as bad as it does in the first weeks and months after the death.

Its normal to feel affected by your loss from time to time for the rest of your life. Most people find there are good days and bad days increase and the loss gets easier to manage.

Things that might help

There are no hard and fast rules to grieving, but there are some things that people have found helpful:

–          Crying and talking as often as you need

–          Writing or keeping a journal

–          Making things like a memory book

–          Listening to music

–          Praying

–          Sharing memories

–          Exercise

–          Reading – there are some excellent books available about grief and loss and this might help you to better understand what is happening to you

–          Accepting the help of friends

–          Consider talking to a counselor, or joining a bereavement support group

Bereavement Support

Bereavement support is a complimentary service offered to families cared for by Woolertons’ Funeral Home, and provided on their behalf by The Grief Centre.

The Bereavement Support Team from the Grief Centre will phone you roughly 4 weeks after the funeral and will be available to keep you in touch with you as little or as often as you wish over the coming year.

The Bereavement Support person can provide a listening ear, and they can arrange for any further information, support, or resources that may be useful to you. Sometimes other family members might benefit from this support – please feel free to indicate that to the team member when they phone.

This is all provided as part of Woolertons’ ongoing commitment to going the extra mile, and providing you and your family with the very best service.

For more information and advice, phone support, resources, counselling (face to face, over the phone, or video call), or support groups visit the link below or call 09-4181457.

https://www.griefcentre.org.nz/

Other helpful organizations:

Lifeline: 24-hour Telephone Counselling

Ph 0800 543 354

Mental Health Crisis Team

Ph 0800 611 116