experiencing death for the first time

It sounds stupid. I was given hamsters for my birthday almost two years ago. i knew they don’t last long. i wasn’t that close with them. but one of them died yesterday. i saw her in the morning. i fed her. gave her a treat. my plan was to go about my day then clean the one out as if done the other one the day prior. i came home from college and stayed downstairs for a while. my older sister asked me to go with her for a little drive. i said yes but i went up to my room first. i dont know why. i went up to my room. opened the door and just felt strange. i opened a window and left. i came back a few minutes later and started watching TV. As i was about to start cleaning the hamster out. i saw her laying there. i thought she was sleeping even though she always burrowed but this time she was just laying there. i talked to her, it usually wakes her up. i stroked her and she still didn’t move. she felt so stiff. the shock of it caused me to be in denial that she was dead. she looked like she was sleeping. she was fine this morning. active, eating, playing. only to be this lifeless now. i’m burying her. but i just keep crying over her.

i know it’s just a hamster. and this website may not be for that. But i’m young and never really experienced death before. nobody i’ve known has died. but i guess finding my hamster like this after knowing she was okay this morning has become such a realism for me. how pets and people can be there one minute and gone the next with no warning. i didn’t once think she would’ve died that day. why would i think that? she was perfect in the morning. It sounds stupid and i feel stupid for crying so much but it’s making so many things go through my head about death as im not familiar with it. how long do i have with the people i love? will i know when it happens? do i make everyday like its their last? its so weird and i just wanted to get my first ever experience of death out there.

1 Like

It isn’t stupid at all.
You find yourself loving furry little critters and it is a shock when they die.
I think the modern world doesn’t prepare us for death. We have got used to being in control of most things. We are no longer exposed to war, famine and most diseases. When there is a death it is sanitised and dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible with no official mourning period or outward signs of bereavement.
When the inevitable happens we just don’t know how to deal with it. Or deal with the thoughts of our own mortality.
Please don’t feel silly, pain is pain. Post here if it helps. Xx

3 Likes

Totally agree we don’t have any experience of death now and no one talks about it. I remember my mum telling me that when she was a child of 4/5 she was lifted to a living room window to see a neighbour laid in coffin for people to pay their respects. This was her introduction. She would have been 90 next month.
I think we should discuss more and in my experience the grief is worse when the person or pet is part of our daily lives. Extended family aren’t around every day so the impact is not the same. So please talk about your feelings and don’t be afraid to cry.

1 Like