1 Give yourself permission to feel whatever you feel

Psyche in the Underworld

Psyche in the Underworld

However inappropriate or unworthy it might seem let it arise and pass away, resisting the temptation to attach great significance to it.

2  Don’t expect it to go in a straight line

Grief is non-linear – one day you might feel fantastic, and the next furious, and the next exhausted, and so it will go on.

3 Be very patient with yourself

When you are bereaved, whether by a death or another kind of ending in your life, it is as though part of your soul moves into the underworld. The time-scales of the underworld are very slow, and care nothing for the efficient productivity of the bright light of day. For most of us this is massively inconvenient, as we need to get on with work, family life, etc, but we just have to let it work its way through at its own rate. Be kind and patient with yourself – it might well take longer than you think it should or want it to.

What would you suggest to help someone who has been bereaved?