How Do You Support A Friend Coping With Bereavement?
• Send a sympathy card – Very often it is easier to write your condolences than to say them. There are some lovely sympathy cards about with comforting words and memorable verses. • Offer to ‘be there’ – The offer to watch the children/pets/house while your friend attends to the business of arranging the funeral, viewing their loved one,needing alone time to grieve etc can be very supportive. • Don’t stay away – People can feel very uncomfortable around someone that is coping with the death of a loved one and this can appear to your friend that you are avoiding them. Don’t leave it for them to contact you if they need you. Tell them you will pop in tomorrow/couple of days/next week to see how they are and let them tell you if its convienient or not. • A friend in need – A little bit of grocery shopping or a casserole, even if it goes uneaten, can ensure your friend has enough sustinence to get by on difficult days. Talk about the person who has died – Even if you didn’t know the person
