Are there any only children that have dealt with parent loss? I lost my dad when young and am now loosing my mum and it feels so hard not having a sibling to share this with.
Hello @Ambers,
I’m so sorry about your dad and mum. You’re not alone. You may want to connect with @dcal who is also an only child and lost her mum when she was 15.
@Pheobe278 also talks about her experience of being an only child on their recent thread.
You can also click the magnifying glass to search for posts. If you click here, you can read posts by other members who have lost their parents and don’t have a sibling.
I hope it helps to know that you are not alone. Please do keep reaching out and take good care,
Seaneen
Hello @Ambers
I am so, so sorry for what you are currently going through with your mum and for what you went through and continue to navigate losing your dad young.
My mum died last month and I am an only child, so I understand the feeling of parent loss as an only child. The part I find most difficult about not having siblings to grieve with is that no one else has experienced my mum as their mum, so it can feel isolating and lonely. It’s difficult to reminisce when no one has that shared experience with you.
I have found communities like this helpful and reaching out to people, and I have found explaining to friends how this feels (even though I don’t have any friends who have lost a parent, or who are only children) has actually been helpful, just to speak about how hard it is to be a grieving only child and open up to people about how that impacts you.
I am thinking of you and hoping this helps you to feel a little less alone. As an only child you can feel you carry a weight of responsibility and that in itself is really hard especially when facing parent loss. I hope you can lean on a support network to help you through this time, whatever that might look like for you.
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Thanks so much for such a thoughtful reply Phoebe and I’m so sorry to hear about your mum .
My friends and husband haven’t experienced parental loss either so what you said totally resonates with me too.
It’s definitely the lack of a shared experience that I think makes this even harder. I have close friends but I don’t think it can be the same as someone you shared your childhood with.
I hope you are doing ok. January can be such a tough month at the best of times. For me, I have tried not to dwell too much on the year ahead, there can be so much emphasis put on the ‘new year’ but sometimes just taking each week as it comes is the best way.
X
Hello @Ambers
I completely understand, and I’m glad you have your husband and friends for support. My husband also hasn’t been through parent loss but he has been wonderful with me. I have found that while some people aren’t sure of how to respond to my grief and have pulled away, others have really stepped up and want to try and understand. I so appreciate those who will listen and who offer opportunities for me to talk about mum.
I am taking the same approach to the new year, it’s all we can do. I am here if you’d ever like to message x