Contents

Coping with loss
Talking to a healthcare professional when someone dies

Sometimes, people who are very unwell with COVID sadly pass away. This can be a really upsetting experience for all those close to the person. People react to loss in different ways. Some people feel sad, anxious, teary, unable to cope, helpless, lost, numb and heart broken. If someone you knew passed away with COVID, it may not have been possible to:

• Spend the final moments with them
• Say goodbye to them in person
• Perform a religious ceremony
• Attend their funeral

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Coping with loss

There are no easy ways to manage loss, and there is no “right” way to deal with it, but here are some things to remember as you support yourself:

• Losing someone you were close to can be more difficult to cope with if you did not get to see them before they died because they were in hospital or needed to self-isolate
• It is a lot to deal with if you are getting better from COVID yourself and coping with loss
• Sometimes, you might feel bad or blame yourself when someone passes away even though it is not your fault – you might wonder if they would still be alive if you had done things differently
• Give yourself space to grieve your loss – there is no ‘right’ amount of time to grieve
• It can help if you talk about how you are feeling – if you keep thoughts and feelings to yourself, it can make you feel upset for longer
• Grieving is different for everyone, and it can take a long time to accept that someone is not in your life anymore

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Talking to a healthcare professional when someone dies

• If you are talking to a healthcare professional about your recovery from COVID and someone you know has passed away from COVID, please let your healthcare professional know
• Talking about your loss when you feel ready is an important part of your recovery
• Telling a healthcare professional does not mean you have to talk about your loss in detail if you do not want to – you should tell them if you do not want to talk about it
• Healthcare professionals can give you information about local support

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Resources

We strongly suggest that you read the guidance by the British Psychological Society on coping with loss during the COVID crisis. This guidance is called Supporting Yourself and Others and can be found here. If you are feeling anxious or depressed please see our guidance on:

• Fear and anxiety
• Low mood

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