Bereavement is a period of mourning or a state of intense grief. The loss of someone close and loved is one of the most difficult things to deal.

A period of grief is a normal reaction to loss and people can experience a wide and confusing range of emotions that may be difficult to share with friends and family.

Grief can be also be experienced after losing something very important, such as a job or a home.

How a Psychologists can help you

I can provide a safe place to talk about your feelings without the fear of being judged or offending someone.

I can help you to identify the normal emotions connected to loss and how to cope with the changed circumstances that might accompany your loss. Gradually the intensity of the feelings subsides as does the frequency with which they are experienced, and you can begin to accept and be at peace with the loss.

Symptoms of normal grief include:

• Depressed mood

• Yearning

• Loneliness

• Anger

• Crying spells

• Anxiety

• Guilt

• Fatigue or a lack of energy

• Sadness

• Insomnia

• A searching for the deceased

• A sense of the deceased being present

• A sense of continuous communication with the deceased

A Bereavement Disorder

A Bereavement Disorder is diagnosed if these symptoms persist and are present more days than not for over 12 months and are accompanied by:

• Difficulty in accepting or a disbelief that the person is gone

• Distressing memories of the person

• Excessive avoidance of reminders of the loss

• Anger over the loss

• Faulty judgement about oneself in relation to the deceased.

• A belief that life has no purpose without the deceased

• A wish to die to be with the deceased

• A feeling that a part of themselves has been lost

• Difficulty planning for the future

• Difficulty pursuing relationships or engaging in activities.