Someone I love has died - bereavement support

Advice and Information - 7 December 2022

Take a look at our advice article on the organisations and groups that can support you if you’re grieving.

What is grief?

Grief is something we experience when someone close to us dies. There is no right or ‘normal’ way to feel, as everyone experiences grief differently.

It is natural to have a strong reaction to someone dying and you may feel:

Shock about what has happened
Pain and distress
Anger
Guilt
Depression
Longing
Worry about other people’s reactions

When you’re grieving, it’s important to not put too much pressure on yourself to feel better.

To help you support yourself and others experiencing grief, Cruse Bereavement Care have put together a series of useful articles, including practical advice on what to do when someone dies.

Find out more from Cruse Bereavement Care

https://www.cruse.org.uk/get-help/coping-grief

Starting conversations about dying

Talking about death, dying and bereavement can be hard.

It can feel awkward or uncomfortable and sometimes, you just don’t know what to say.

Dying Matters is the campaign that’s trying to change that. Their mission is to break the stigma, challenge preconceptions and normalise public openness around dying.

Their #IRemember campaign encourages you to share stories and memories of someone that you want to remember.

Find out more about Dying Matters

Support in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Grief is a natural response to loss that many people will cope with through support from family and friends. However, if you want to talk to someone else about your grief, there are services, organisations and community groups that can help you.

An updated guide to bereavement support in our area has been published by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Service.

It lists the main services across our area, including hospital and hospice bereavement services as well as local and national organisations offering support for people who have lost a loved one.

View the guide

When to see your GP about your mental health

You should go to the doctor if:

You’re struggling to cope with stress, anxiety or a low mood
You’ve had a low mood for more than 2 weeks
Things you’re trying yourself are not helping
You would prefer to get a referral to a service from a GP

The NHS website has advice on coping with bereavement

www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/feelings-and-symptoms/grief-bereavement-loss/

NHS Talking Therapies

You can refer yourself for free NHS talking therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Find a local service

If you're in a crisis and need urgent help

Call 111 and press option 2 for the First Response Service - a 24-hour service for people in a mental health crisis. This service is for anyone, of any age, who is registered with a GP in Cambridgeshire or Peterborough.
Call Samaritans on freephone 116 123 – they're always open and are there to listen
Contact your GP surgery and ask for an emergency appointment
Contact NHS 111

Local mental health counselling and support

Qwell

Online wellbeing support and chat-based counselling for anyone aged 18+ from Qwell.

www.qwell.io/

Kooth

Free, anonymous online counselling and emotional wellbeing platform. Open 12pm-10pm Monday to Friday and 6pm-10pm Saturday and Sunday.

www.kooth.com/

Lifeline/Lifeline Plus

Mental health and wellbeing helpline for people aged 18+ and living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Monday-Friday 9am -2pm via freephone 0808 808 2121. The line will support people to manage their wellbeing, provide self-help advice or signpost to other organisations for particular concerns.

Between 2pm and 11pm, seven days a week, the same number becomes Lifeline and provides support for those in mental health distress: 0808 808 2121.

Bereaved through suicide?

Losing someone to suicide is uniquely devastating. And those left behind have unanswered questions and complex feelings.

Lifecraft offers a suicide bereavement support service to family and friends in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area.

01223 566957

sbs@lifecraft.org.uk

lifecraft.org.uk/our-services/suicide-bereavement-support-service/

Share your experience

Have you had a recent experience of end of life care or bereavement support and want to talk to us about it?

Our information team are experienced in listening to difficult stories and helping people find support. So do give them a call on 0330 355 1285 (local call rate) or click the link below to share your experience online.

It only takes five minutes to tell us and your feedback can help NHS and social care services understand the steps they can take to improve care for you and your loved ones.

Tell us your experience

Other support

Visit the At a Loss website to find the full range of support available to you

www.ataloss.org/

WAY Foundation is a national charity that supports people who have been widowed before their 51^st birthday.

www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/

Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide is a self-help organisation which exists to meet the needs of those bereaved by the suicide of anyone close to them.

uksobs.org/

0300 111 5065 - Monday to Friday, 9am-9pm

Macmillan Cancer Support provide information and support for anyone affected by cancer.

Helpline 0808 808 0000 - Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm

www.macmillan.org.uk/

The Good Grief Trust

Run by the bereaved for the bereaved

www.thegoodgrieftrust.org/

hello@thegoodgrieftrust.org

Organisations supporting children and their families

Grief Encounter is a charity supporting children and their families who have experienced the death of someone close to them.

Helpline 0808 802 0111 - Monday to Friday 9am-9pm

www.griefencounter.org.uk/

Child Bereavement UK supports families and educates professionals both when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, and when a child is facing bereavement.

0800 028 8840 - Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm

www.childbereavementuk.org/