Losing someone close to you can be very difficult and traumatic. If you need support during your time of bereavement, St. John's has a close community of people to help you.

The death of a person can result in some of the following feelings;

• Numbness - initially, it can be hard for someone's death to fully sink in.
• Disbelief - people sometimes cannot believe that someone has died and that they won't ever be coming back.
• Pain - as well as experiencing emotional pain, people can be physically affected by bereavement. This can include a sickly feeling in your stomach. You might lose your appetite.
• Guilt - this can happen if someone has had an argument with the person or there was bad feelings before they passed away.
• Anger - this is a normal response to bereavement, as a death can sometimes have no explanation.
• Relief - despite their sense of loss, this can sometimes be felt by people who have lost someone after a great deal of suffering.

You may even come to a point where you think you're beginning to cope with your loss, but simply going to a funeral or Requiem Mass may awaken your feelings again.

If you feel you would like to talk to a person regarding the death of a loved one, please contact the Parish Secretary (01603-624615) who will put you in contact with the Bereavement Counselling Group.