Supporting my friend

Coping with bereavement
1

Hi,

I recently lost a good friend of mine from university in a horrific accident that should not have happened.
His girlfriend is also my best friend I am really struggling to find a way to cope with my own grief as well as supporting her through the unimaginable amount of pain she must be going through. He was the love of her life and her whole future was him and its just so hard to accept the reality that he won’t be coming back.
I also feel like I am coping with her grief by myself and I don’t know how to offload it in a different way that will not affect my best friend.
We are all in our early twenties and probably will be the first funeral for most of our friends and I can’t predict how everyone will react.
His funeral will be this coming Monday and I just have no idea how to support her and cope with it myself if anyone has any advice it would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

Hannah

2

Hello @HannahB1, I’m so sorry about the loss of your friend. You sound very caring - it can be so tough to support your best friend while grieving yourself.

You might find out Supporting someone else who is bereaved page helpful. It talks you through what support people find most helpful, how to support someone who is grieving and what to say.

You could also point your friend in the direction of our Online Bereavement Support, which includes our community, grief counselling and our Grief Guide. You can take up this support for yourself, too.

I hope this is helpful - please do keep reaching out to us, you’re not alone.

Take care
Seaneen