Bereavement

Grieving is a natural part of recovering from a bereavement. Everyone's experience of grief is different. There are no rules about what we should feel, and for how long. Many people find they feel a mixture of the following:

• sadness
• shock, particularly if the death was unexpected
• relief, if the death followed a long period of illness
• guilt and regret
• anger
• anxiety
• despair and helplessness
• depression

These feelings may be very intense, particularly in the early days and weeks. Time can help these intense emotions subside. There's no need to feel guilty about starting to feel better. It doesn't mean you're not respecting the person's memory or forgetting about them.