Bereavement

When someone in your family or a close friend dies, it affects everyone and it is especially important that you, as a young person get the support you need during such a difficult time.

Grief isn't only experienced when someone dies, you might also experience feelings of grief if someone close to you goes away permanently or is away for a long period of time.

The death of a much-loved pet can often be your first experience of death and loss and can be equally distressing.

All children and young are different and the way you respond in to loss, such as a bereavement, might be different to the way a friend does. However, most of us will experience and express some level of distress. This can lead to changes in your behaviour as you try to cope with how you are feeling.

The changes you might notice include: separation anxiety (especially in young children, not wanting to be away from others they love for fear of losing them too), sleep disturbance, nightmares, deep sadness, loneliness, developing new fears, losing interest in normal activities, reduced concentration and achievement at school, anger, irritability and physical complaints (sore stomach etc)

Whilst grief is a normal response to loss, it is still a really difficult thing to experience and it may be that you need some support . Whilst friends and family are always the first people we think of, this can be difficult if they are also grieving which is often the case .

Remember there are other supports available to you for example, through school. There are also some really good bereavement sites that can help guide and support you. You'll find some links to these at the bottom of the page

Grief has no set timescale, and it is normal to feel a whole range of emotions after a loss. Sometimes, however, a person may feel they are struggling to cope over a much longer period of time. At this point it may be that some professional help is needed.

You may need professional support if, over a prolonged period, they are:
feeling depressed or anxious
withdrawing from family, friends and activities
struggling to sleep
refusing to go to school
turning to less healthy coping mechanisms such as self-harming
talking regularly about wanting to join the person who has died
experiencing suicidal thoughts
not believing that the person has died

If you’re worried about your mental health or wellbeing, we would always advise that you talk with an adult you can trust. This might be a teacher, relative, youth worker social worker. You can also speak to your GP. It may be that a referral to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is needed and any professional adult can do that for you with your permission.

Click on the links below to useful webpages of organisations who support young people with loss