Help at the Time of Death

Resources for Help at the Time of Death

We are so very sorry you need to visit this page. Please know you are not alone. We hope the following articles will help you as you try to navigate what has happened.

Please also visit our bereavement services page to find the range of support services available to you and further resources here.

If you would like to talk to someone, our online Grief Counsellor Chat service is available weekdays 9am-9pm or see our helplines here.

Understanding and Supporting Bereavement

Resources Listings

Counselling: What You Need to Know

We provide some information here about what counselling is, what to expect and how to find a good counsellor that suits your needs. The information is helpfully provided by the Association of Christian Counsellors.

Dying for Beginners

This video explains the dying process very gently so that we understand it better and can have conversations with friends and family about it.

Five Tips for Supporting a Grieving Young Person

Here are five tips for supporting young people who are bereaved.

How to Cope with a Tragedy

Every death brings its own trauma to survivors. However, when someone is suddenly killed in an accident or murdered, the stress levels rise considerably for those left behind.

Rosemary for Remembrance Cake

A recipe for how to bake a Rosemary for Remembrance Cake from Nigella Lawson’s book Feast.

Symptoms

Our Body’s Response to Emotional Stress: Unveiling Hidden Causes of Common Grief Symptoms. Are you puzzled by the myriad of grief symptoms you are experiencing?

Traumatic Bereavement

Trauma refers to the way that some distressing events are so extreme or shocking that they overwhelm a person’s ability to cope, resulting in lasting negative impact.

What Is Effective Bereavement Support?

There is a lot of good intention around when it comes to bereavement support in terms of providing it but not a great deal of understanding of all the options available and the benefits of informal support.

Young People and Traumatic Bereavement

In traumatic bereavement, children and young people experience very strong emotions because of the meaning they make of the death.

Different Circumstances

Resources Listings

Autism and Bereavement

There is not a great deal of research on how people with autism deal with bereavement. However there is useful advice available that can help us support anyone with autism, whatever their age.

Baby Loss and Grief

Losing a baby is one of the most devastating experiences a person can go through. This article covers how to understand the impact of baby loss and how to help those who have gone through it.

Bereavement in Older Age

Although losing a loved one is perhaps more common in later life, this doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. If someone you know has been bereaved, there are some simple things you can do to support them.

Learning Disabilities and Bereavement

This briefing is produced by Brake, the road safety charity. It aims to raise awareness of how people with learning disabilities experience grief, and provides advice on how to support them.

Losing a Child

The death of a child, of any age, brings heartbreak and devastation. This article was written by Jane Harris and Jimmy Edmonds who set up the Good Grief Project following the death of their son, Josh.

Self Care

Resources Listings

Looking After Yourself

After the funeral, everyone else's lives seem to go back to normal, and you may be left wondering how you're going to cope. Read on for advice on taking care of yourself, crucial for your future wellbeing and that of others.

Losing a Loved One Takes Your Breath Away

AtaLoss Subject Matter Expert, Sabine Horner is a nutritionist. Here she writes about how deep breathing can help us deal with the storms of emotion when we're bereaved.

Love Your Pet Grief Support

In this article we acknowledge the value of pets in supporting grief and the pain we can also experience when they die.

Magnesium: Your Ally in Managing Grief Symptoms

One often-overlooked factor in managing grief is ensuring we are getting enough magnesium. Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a pivotal role in over 300 biological processes in our body.

Nourish Your Body When You Are Grieving

Nutritionist Sabine Horner recommends ways to nourish your body when you are grieving.

Preventing Drastic Weight Loss in Grief

Sabine Horner explains why eating can become a major issue after losing a loved one. In the early days, most grievers simply do not feel hungry.

The Benefits of ‘Grief’ Gardening

When you lose someone, the grief will never go away completely — but there are healthy ways to cope. Some people find that gardening as they grieve, known as ‘grief gardening’, can gently relieve some of the emotional and physical symptoms after the loss of a loved one.

Top Tips to Keep Well Hydrated When Grieving

Read here why keeping hydrated in grief is important and how that can be achieved.

Why We Can’t Stomach Food When We Lose a Loved One

Grief can cause a decreased appetite and other food related issues.

Practical Help

Resources Listings

Benefits and Bereavement

Benefits for you if you are a partner or child of the deceased. Depending on which of your loved ones has died your tax allowances, National Insurance and benefits may change.

Cancelling Mail

This is our guide to cancelling mail. Receiving post for the person who has died can be very difficult. Depending on the type of mail, there are a variety of practical measures you can take to deal with the problem.

Government Advice When Someone Dies

There’s a lot of Government advice to help and support you when someone dies. This article explains more.

How to Deal With Someone’s Belongings After They Have Died

This article outlines the ways that belongings can be passed on after someone has died and what the legal rules may be.

Official Documents: How to Easily Cancel Them

Using the Government's ‘Tell Us Once’ service will ensure all government departments are informed. This includes passports, driving licenses, pensions, benefits, national insurance, tax and blue badges.

Protecting Against Identity Fraud

We all know that thanks to the wide availability of personal information online identity fraud is increasing. But what happens when an identity is stolen after a person has died?

Registering a Death

Registering the death of someone is the official record that their life has ended and is the formal government record of that fact.

What to Do If Someone Dies Abroad

If your loved one dies abroad there are a whole set of considerations to take into account. However, there are people to help you and you should seek their advice if you find yourself in this situation.

Wills

You might have to deal with the will, money and property of the person who's died if you're a close friend or relative, or the executor of the will.

Funeral Planning

Resources Listings

Funeral Etiquette in Different Faiths

If you are attending the funeral of a someone of a different faith you can get advice here on, for example, what to expect, how to pay your respects, how to send condolences and what to wear to the funeral.

Funerals: Everything a Young Person Needs to Know

A useful film and book to help any young person understand funerals (burial and cremation) and decide whether to attend and what role they can play in saying goodbye to a loved one.

Funerals: Find an Independent Funeral Director near You

Find here how The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (known as SAIF) can help.

Funerals: How to Plan One

Our guide on how to plan a funeral. A funeral is an opportunity to create a special tribute to your loved one and whilst painful, can also be memorable and a positive experience.

How to Hold Your Own Memorial

If you can’t attend a funeral or have chosen not to do so you may want to hold your own memorial service for the person you have lost.

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Help at the Time of Death

Resources for Help at the Time of Death

Understanding and Supporting Bereavement

Different Circumstances

Self Care

Practical Help

Funeral Planning

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