Coping with the Sudden Death of a Loved One

There’s nothing more devastating than the sudden death of a loved one; a child, parent or sibling, a partner or spouse, or a long-time friend.


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Coping with death – particularly sudden death that doesn’t provide family and friends with time to prepare for their passing – isn’t at all easy. However, there are methods that can help you cope with the sudden death of a loved one, including the following.

1. Stay busy

Whilst you’ll undoubtedly want to spend some time by yourself and take time away from work, one of the worst things that you can do is fail to stay busy – you need to do something with your time. This doesn’t mean doing things to take your mind off your loss, but more so avoiding time spent wallowing in misery.

2. Feel your emotions

It’s only natural to experience a wide array of emotions after the passing of a loved one. Feeling your emotions, and understanding that this is natural and an integral part of the grieving process, is essential.

3. Understand that there isn’t a set-in-stone grieving period

You must also understand that there isn’t a set-in-stone grieving period at the end of which you’ll immediately perk up and move on. You’ll never forget your brother, best friend or grandfather; that’s only natural and something you need to accept. However, it must be said that you have to re-join society by going back to work and socialising with family and friends – don’t forget this.

4. Seek the comfort of family and friends

Death often has the effect of bringing families and friends closer together even though many miles and years may have separated them. Although the only positive aspect of someone passing away, it’s something that should be embraced because it helps everyone affected to grieve and cope with their passing.

5. Exercise

Sure, you mightn’t feel like getting in shape right now but exercise has many positive benefits during the grieving process. The positive benefits of exercising include pumping oxygen to the brain which will help you to think more clearly, the release endorphins and serotonin to perk you up, plus exercise also safeguards your health which is something you can’t afford to overlook at a time when you’re vulnerable.

6. Do something positive in their name

Many people have started charities in their loved ones’ names, paid for benches in local parks and made donations to local organisations. This is something that you can discuss when organising the funeral and memorial service with family and friends and you’ll find that there’s seemingly no end of positive things that you can do in their name.

7. Engage in psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is an excellent way to cope with grief after the passing of a loved one because it enables you to identify the emotions you’ve been feeling due to losing someone close to you and release them. Keeping your emotions bottled up is dangerous for both your mental and physical health and often results in illness.

Bear in mind that grieving and coping with the sudden death of a loved one is a very personal, individual experience – everyone grieves and copes with death differently. However, how you grieve and cope with the death of a loved one will impact upon your life in the future and your relationships with family and friends.

Therefore, remember that life goes on, which might seem untrue, and that you need to grieve and cope with death in a way that helps you deal with your loss, but also in a manner that doesn’t jeopardise or impact negatively upon your relationships with the living.


About the Author:
Find excellent burial plots and funeral organising assistance at GreenAcres Woodland Burials, a company in the UK that aims to help bereaved families of those who just recently passed away.