Death can be an extremely difficult time for anybody left behind. However, the death of a child can pose an extremely overwhelming sense of grief and loss for a parent. While it is understandably one of the most difficult losses anybody can ever go through, it’s important to be able to identify when grieving has turned extreme or beyond what is considered normal in this process.
Some parents may experience what can be called a “complicated grief”. Signs of this may include:
- Experience intrusive thoughts about their child
- Yearn for their child
- Search for their child
- Feel excessively lonely and without purpose since the death.
- Feel numb, detached, and have difficulty believing or acknowledging their child’s death.
- Feeling that life is empty or meaningless
- Feel that a part of themselves has died
- Have a shattered world view
- Exhibit harmful behaviors
- Feel excessively irritable, or bitter or angry about their child’s death
If you know someone going through a phase like this, visit HelpStartsHere.org for more tips on how to help them through this difficult time.