Supporting a Bereaved Friend

It can be really uncomfortable sitting with someone who is grieving. They are crying so hard and seem super angry with everything, including you. It can make you feel like you can’t possibly say the right things. Read more about “Dealing with Grief Anger” on our blog page today!

What are you supposed to do? What are you supposed to say?

The number one tip for supporting a bereaved friend is allow them to be sad.

One of the best scenes in animation for showing how best to cheer up a friend is in the movie “Inside Out'“. The character Joy is doing everything in her power to cheer up Bing Bong and it fails miserably. Then the character Sadness sits by Bing Bong and listens while he tells how much he misses Riley. By letting him tell his story, Sadness is giving Bing Bong what every bereaved person needs: space to telling their story.

In order to properly give space for your bereaved friend’s grief story, the space needs to be free of any advice, any pithy sayings like, “He’s in a better place”, or any judgement.

Thank you for being there for your friend. The fact that you read this short blog means you have a heart that wants to help, and that is glorious. Reach out to our grief counselling expert to help your friend deal with this challenging part of their life.