Grief is understood as a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. Often, the pain of loss can feel overwhelming. You may experience all kinds of difficult and unexpected emotions, from shock or anger to disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness. The pain of grief can also disrupt your physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think straight.

These are normal reactions to loss — and the more significant the loss, the more intense your grief will be.

We recognise that when your own personal grief is combined with a family dispute around inheritance, where perhaps you are unhappy with the execution of a will or angry with other parties, it can make an already difficult emotional situation even harder to cope with.

While grieving and loss are a sad yet inevitable part of our lives, there are some ways to help cope with the pain, come to terms with your grief, and eventually, find a way to pick up the pieces and move on with your life. 

Some of the methods to help cope with your grief may include: 

1 – Acknowledging your pain

2 – Accepting that grief can trigger many different & unexpected emotions

3 – Understanding that your grieving process will be unique to you

4 – Seeking out face-to-face support from people who care about you

5 – Supporting yourself emotionally by taking care of yourself physically

6 – Recognising the difference between grief and depression

With the effects of grief and loss in mind, we help to reduce stress when dealing with legal proceedings which may take place, and where possible, resolve disputes through careful communication and mediation – rather than going to court.

What do we mean by ‘mediation’? 

• What do we mean by ‘mediation’? Mediation is a confidential process used to settle a dispute between two or more people, outside of court. It involves an appointed mediator, who is an independent and impartial third person, to help all parties talk through their issues, negotiate a solution and arrive at a mutually agreeable resolution. 

GriefChat

GriefChat provides emotional support for bereaved people, access to trained bereavement counsellors and referral into other specialist bereavement services.

Most people expect to be very upset or distressed when someone close to them has died. What takes many people by surprise is how strong the emotions can be, how they can change very quickly, and how long they last. People around you may seem to think you should be ‘back to normal’ after a few weeks or months. You might appear to be your usual self to other people, but you know that on the inside, you’re not even sure what normal is anymore.

Everyone grieves in a way that is unique to them and their relationship with the person who has died. Well-intentioned people may say to you, ‘Time is a great healer.’ Sometimes, however, it can seem that life is more difficult as the weeks and months go by.

We know that no-one can understand exactly what your loss feels like to you. But we do understand that it’s sometimes easier to talk to someone outside of your friends and family about grief and the impact of bereavement of your life and this is why we offer the GriefChat service.

GriefChat was created by bereavement experts and by clicking on the GriefChat box below, you can chat directly to a specially trained bereavement counsellor. GriefChat counsellors are experienced in supporting bereaved people and will listen to your story, explore how your grief is affecting you and help you to find any additional support you might need. GriefChat is a completely free service and is available Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm (except Bank Holidays).

GriefChat