Surviving the Sudden Death of a Loved One

The sudden death of a loved one is the most devastating event that many of us will face in our lifetime. From the moment we first hear of the death, we are suddenly simultaneously and intensely hit with a variety of emotions. We may feel denial because we don't want to admit that our loved one is no longer with us, we may feel anger because they died too soon, we may feel regret because we feel that we could have somehow prevented the circumstances which may cause the death. Whichever emotion we feel, chances are that within the weeks and months following the death we will feel the same emotions randomly and repeatedly. This article is a survivor's guide to getting through the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one.

One of the simplest things we can do following the sudden death of a loved one is to remember and honor the loved one. There is no doubt that many people will have many special memories of the departed that they will readily share with the person's family. As a tribute to the departed, you may want to consider videotaping some of these conversations and compiling a video tribute that you can look at whenever you find yourself thinking of the departed.

During the death of a loved one, we often forget that we still have to take care of ourselves. Take some time for yourself to get away from all of the people who may be coming by your house to express their condolences or sympathy. A few days following the death of my brother, I got to a point where I couldn't handle being around all the people talking about his accident, talking about his death, how he looked, etc. So I went home and cleaned my house. It wasn't that I didn't want to honor my brother or anything like that, but simply the fact that I had to sort of come away for air.