When Bereavement Leave Runs Out: Going Back To Work After A Death

Coping with Grief / Coping with Grief : Litsa Williams



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Here at WYG topics seem to come up in waves.  We see trends in comments on the blog, social media, and in emails.  Lately the trend has been going back to work after a death.  Let’s just get the obvious out of the way:  it sucks. Going back to work while your grieving is never going to be easy, no matter how many articles like this on you read.  And there are so many questions.  When should I go back to work?  When do I have to go back to work?  Are there ways I can make it any less terrible?

So many questions, so few clear and universal answers.  Lucky for you that has never stopped us from tackling a topic before and it won’t today.   Let’s start with a (sort of) simple question:

When do I have to go back to work after a death?

Well, that depends on your job, unfortunately.  There have been multiple attempts to require companies to provide bereavement leave, but at this point, unless you are lucky enough to live in the state of Oregon, it is not required that a job provide you time off after a death.  The good news: many companies do offer some type of bereavement leave.  The bad news: not all companies to, it may not be paid leave, and it may only be a few days.

Except for Oregon - let's give them one more shout out.  Any employee eligible for FMLA can take up to two weeks off after the death of a family member.  Though that still may not sound like long enough, it is a lot better than the 3 days many of us get!  Thanks Oregon, we at WYG appreciate your efforts.

When should I go back to work after a death?

This question is more complicated.  Perhaps you are one of those lucky people in Oregon, or your job is super spectacular and they have granted you plenty of leave, or you have a zillion hours of vacation stored up that you can use.  If you have the luxury of time, should you take it and for how long?  The COO at Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg lost her husband in an unexpected accident.  Two weeks later she headed back to the office, citing the advice given to children returning to school - it is good to get back into a routine.

She wasn’t totally off base.  For some people, getting back to work is helpful and there is a place for routine.  Though I personally think three days for bereavement leave is grossly insufficient, I have had others tell me that getting back to work was the only thing that stabilized them, gave them a reason to get up in the morning, and kept them moving forward.  What is complicated is that others feel totally differently.  Focusing feels impossible, the work environment is totally overwhelming, and going back so soon just feels downright brutal.

If it is possible, you may want to consider easing back in.  If you are able to transition back by doing some half days this can make things a little less overwhelming and feel a bit more manageable.   Talk to your HR department and your supervisor to see if that is a possibility.  Another option (if you have the luxury) is going back 2 or 3 days/week, giving yourself down days in between to recuperate as you transition back.

Are there ways I can make the transition back easier?

This question is a doozy.  There are things that can make it easier but that doesn’t change the fact that it will still, undoubtedly, suck.  But there are some things to consider that can help.

  • Seeing your coworkers again will be tough.  You probably know the drill.  After a death every person you see for the first time requires an “I’m sorry, how are you doing?” conversation.  Now, this is of course better than no acknowledgement of you loss, but at work it can get overwhelming to have that conversation over and over.  What can you do?
    1. Make sure your coworkers already know what happened, so you don’t have to tell people over and over if you don’t want to. Talk to HR and they can assist with notifying people before you return.
    2. Consider going into work or have lunch/dinner with co-workers before you officially return to work. That allows you to get all those “I’m sorry, how are you?” convos out of the way before you are there to actually work.
    3. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. Just let people know.  Again, HR can help with this.  If you would rather not have other people bring up the death, you can share this with HR and they can share with your colleagues.  Keep in mind that having support and talking with co-workers can be a very good thing, but it is absolutely fine if you want to do that in your own way and time.
    4. Help your coworkers to understand grief. Don’t worry, this doesn’t have to be your job!  But when you talk to HR it may be helpful to ask if they could share some information about grief with your colleagues, so they might know what to expect.  It can also dispel some of those myths about grief and maybe even help people know what NOT to say to you.
  • Focusing can be a nightmare. When you get back to work you may quickly feel like you are a 9 year old boy with ADD, that dementia is setting in, or that you are straight-up losing it. Don’t panic, this is one of the most common symptoms of grief – you can’t focus and you can’t retain information. What can you do?
    1. Talk to your supervisor and HR. Be upfront that you know focus is going to be a struggle and ask for understanding and support.
    2. Double check your work, and ask a coworker or your supervisor to do the same. The quality of your work may suffer at first and that is totally normal.  Identifying someone trusted who can look complex assignments and projects over for you can be a huge help.
    3. If you weren’t a to-do list person before, become one now. When we are grieving, having multiple things to accomplish can feel total overwhelming – from knowing where to start to forgetting things to struggling to care, challenges abound.  Starting each day with a to-do list and then numbering what you need to accomplish in order of priority can serve as a good roadmap for the day.
    4. Take breaks. Short breaks during the day can recharge you when you are getting overwhelmed.  Take a short walk, do some deep breathing or meditation, or even do some writing.  Just something to refocus you.
    5. Your thoughts will wander, accept it! It will happen, it will be hard, it might be painful, and it will happen.  Trying to avoid the thoughts that are creeping in can actually make things worse.  When we avoid thoughts they often just keep trying to force their way in.  If intrusive thoughts about your loss are popping up while you are trying to work, spend a minute with the thought, write it down in a journal, and spend some time with that thought after work.
  • It won’t get easier overnight. Going back is a long transition.  You may be waiting to feel “normal” again, sadly, that is just not how grief works! There are a few other things you can do to get you through the long haul after you return to work.
    1. Be ready to cry. Yes, it sucks, but grief triggers are everywhere.  There is a good chance you will cry at work.  Be prepared for it.  Check out our post on crying in public for some tips and tricks.  If you don’t have an office where you can shut your door, find your safe space where you can go if you need to shed some tears – even if it is the bathroom, your car, or under your desk (ideally without a bottle of wine!).
      crying GIF
    2. Keep talking with your boss and HR. Communicate how things are going.  If you are struggling, let them know and ask for support.
    3. Be prepared that you may feel a total apathy about your job or want to quit. Grief changes our priorities completely.  Suddenly the job you loved might feel totally meaningless.  Everyone around you still cares about deadlines and TPS reports and you feel like none of that matters anymore.    Don’t make any hasty decisions.  Read our post about grief changing our priorities and give yourself some time before writing that resignation letter or screaming at your coworkers that they don’t understand what is important in life.

One last word of caution for those people who have jumped back in to work and are working all the time.  It can be easy to think that keeping busy means you are coping and adjusting to grief in a healthy way.  This can be a dangerous trap that catches up with us later.  Check out our post on the myth of keeping busy.

There are no easy answers for going back to work, but we are sure some of you have some tips and tricks we have missed.  Leave a comment to share the good and the bad of your experience going back to work.  Your words may help another griever!

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141 Comments on "When Bereavement Leave Runs Out: Going Back To Work After A Death"

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  1. Theresa  May 6, 2022 at 9:47 pm Reply

    I have 21 yr old twins boy and girl on 4/2/22 just a little over four weeks ago I lost my twin daughter in a horrific automobile accident she died I instantly. I work at a high school for 19 yrs the school district has given me the option of staying out through may and then come back when school starts in august we are off in summer the pain is so unbearable at times and my stomach hurts all the time do y’all think I should just not go back to work until august since they are giving me the choice

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  2. Ellen  April 4, 2022 at 2:31 am Reply

    Wow, I’m amazed at how similar I feel to so many people on this page.

    I lost my dad last year (28/10/22) from a 2 year battle with cancer. I’m only 26 years old, and myself, my brother and my mum nursed him for 3 months before his death.

    I started back at work 2 weeks after his death and felt motivated. But 5 months later, I feel like I just want to quit, catch a plane and get away from everything.

    I just don’t seem to care about work anymore, but I still want to earn money. I have applied for a new job thinking that maybe I need a change, but maybe I’m doing the wrong thing?

    It’s a tough road, as I’m sure many of you know.

    When I’m not working, I’m helping mum with family administration as well as counselling mum. I feel like all the small annoying ‘issues’ in my life accumulate into one big whole mess in my head, that I feel like I have no idea what is going on. It also feels like I don’t have any time to do something nice for me.

    I haven’t exactly disclosed the grief I feel sometimes to my management at work, as I’m afraid they’ll think I’m not capable at doing my job.

    It’s such a shame that we live in a society where people who experience death of a close loved one don’t have access to more bereavement leave. Two days was not enough, and I had to tap into my annual leave which means I won’t have enough paid leave for a nice holiday away (which I’m sure we all need from our experiences).

    I wish everyone on this thread the very best and just know that I really feel for you. It’s so tough losing someone you are so close with.

    xo

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    • Ellen  April 4, 2022 at 2:38 am Reply

      *Correction, he died (28/10/21)

  3. Nikki  January 31, 2022 at 1:19 am Reply

    Hi,

    I lost my dad on 12/16/21. I initially went back to work on 1/3 but my work was suffering because I was angry. I was angry at the work I was doing, angry at myself for not spending more time with my dad do to work, just angry. Luckily, my employer allowed me to be off to work through this and I am to return to work in the AM after being off since the 18th but I’m not ready. I’m having trouble sleeping. Every time I close my eyes I can hear my dads voice, his laugh, which made me feel better in my worst hours. Here it is 1AM EST and I’m supposed to be up in 5 hours preparing to return to work. I just don’t want to yet but I have to suck it up. The worst thing of it all is that my dads birthday would have been this week with mines a few days later. I can’t call him and tell him happy birthday and he won’t be calling me. This is going to be a rough and hard week. Hopefully I’ll get through it by using some of the tools in this article! Trying to be optimistic.

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  4. Tianna  January 28, 2022 at 8:39 am Reply

    My 19 year old son passed away 11/09/21 and I am struggling to the fullest. It was an accidental overdose and so unexpected. I fortunately live in Oregon, so I had longer leave time and took a total of one month off. I felt like that was still too soon to go back. I then got Covid and was off for about 2 weeks end of December/January. I am on my third week back at work and I am having the hardest time. I am crying all of the time, I CAN NOT focus or concentrate on my job and my work is already starting to fall behind. I thought getting back in would be great distraction and I would thrive. That is not turning out to be the case. I have a very detail oriented job drafting contracts for a large insurance company and there really is no room for error. This is also a newer position for me as I just started in June 2021. So I am still learning. I have a meeting with my boss this morning who is VERY supportive and I will see what he has to say. I feel like I can’t work at all still. I feel so bad taking more time off, but I feel like I need more time! How does anyone in my situation deal? I just don’t know, saw this article and thought I would do a quick post.
    Thanks for reading.
    Tianna

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  5. Aaron  January 7, 2022 at 11:41 am Reply

    I lost my mother to COVID19 October 18, 2021. Her passing is the single hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with. It was like a light switch, one day I could talk and hug her, and the next, she was incoherent and sedated in the ICU on a ventilator.

    My employer offered 3 days of paid bereavement. I took it. I discussed with my manager, that I am struggling with this significant loss and they stated they understood.

    In December, I decided to go on vacation for 3 weeks hoping to “re-center” my brain. Now, we are in January I’m back at work, and I’m still finding myself not being able to focus, and I have a lack of care / motivation to finish tasks given to me. My priorities have shifted, they are no longer chasing the dollar, but more of making memories with my loved ones that are still here. I can’t seem to focus, I feel lost. My mother was my rock, the hand I could hold, the shoulder I could cry on, the person I could talk to and get advice at any moment, and now I just feel like an empty shell. I just pray that someday this will get easier, I don’t want to lose my job and damage my career over this she wouldn’t want that.

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  6. Tara  August 8, 2021 at 5:02 pm Reply

    I lost my husband 10 days ago. Today would have been our 29th wedding anniversary. I have a great support system, thankfully. My brain just gets confused and I can’t remember anything. My concentration is shot. I’ve been able to get some stuff done like a little laundry and running the dishwasher. The thought of trying to work just baffles me. I can’t remember how to do my basic functions. Fortunately, my clients are very understanding and told me to do only what I think I can handle on any given day and to take as much time as I need. I’m planning to ease back into work as I can do some stuff from home.

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  7. Melissa Loftus  July 21, 2021 at 12:08 am Reply

    My Dad died 4/01/21. I got the honor of taking care of him on hospice. I have so much guilt cause I will never know if I succeeded in making him comfortable. I was off work for the week he was sick cause I was the caretaker. I was off for 1 week for his wake. We weren’t able to have the military honors ceremony until this past Monday due to getting all the family together from out of town. My job was pretty understanding but I could only take 1 week off. I wanted to quit. I suddenly hated a job that I loved for 14 years. I was getting into trouble because everyone and everything bothered me. It’s like everyone forgot my Dad died and I’m held to this expectation that I should be moving on by now. My Dad was my best friend. I lost my heart the day he died and I am not sure if I will ever find it again. I have learned a lot of things along this grief process and one it to be more considerate to other people that are grieving and that everyone grieves differently. After his funeral yesterday I was suppose to work the rest of the week but my Dr. had already suggested for me to take a couple weeks off and he would write me to be on FMLA. I am taking his advice and I truly think it’s exactly what I need right now. So if you are struggling to return and the thought of losing your job stresses you out even more then talk to your Dr.

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    • Sarah  August 15, 2021 at 8:59 pm Reply

      My mom died the same month. 4/28/21 I’m my moms oldest child 26 years old. She was my rock and my brothers and my dads. We all watched her die for 3 days in the hospital getting all kinds of answers from doctors and nurses not knowing if she was coming out of this or not. On the 3rd day we all sat with her and watched her go. I was in shock that whole time and month after. I went back to work not even a month after her passing and the first day a song played that played right after she died and I was immediately triggered and asked to go home and explained my situation. My boss was annoyed and pretty much asked if it was something that was going to keep happening and I even apologized. There’s only been two times I had to leave early and a couple times I’ve called in since and I go in and work hard and they are scheduling me mostly 6 days in a row since and I’m going in with a positive attitude. I just called out 3 days because I feel exhausted and feeling overwhelming pain and they are getting mad at me not caring that I just lost my most important person in my life and have been trying to hold everything and my family together. I just know they think I should be over it by now. I’d quit and take a year off if I could to do some soul searching, but I live on my own and have car payments and obligations I can’t run away from. Your comment on here made me feel more understood and not alone.

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      • Ellen  April 4, 2022 at 2:37 am

        I’m sorry for your loss. I do understand how you feel Sarah.

        I’m young as well and lost my father last year (28/10/21). I also nursed him right up until his death which was challenging, but rewarding.

        It’s so tough going back to work and I’d rather quit too to re-centre myself.

        I’m also sorry that your boss isn’t very supportive. The one thing I’ve realised is that you can never get people to fully empathise with your situation. The pain is too great and unless they’ve experienced a similar thing, they’ll never fully understand what you’re going through.

        Best wishes.

    • K=MŔ  September 22, 2021 at 3:17 am Reply

      My mom died in July. I felt pressure to get back to work and only took one week off. The workload has been very heavy for a few years. I was buried with a ton of demands and projects to get done when I got back.

      My boss announced this week that now we’ve been able to hire another employee and now “that I’m back, we can plan and start adding new projects and changing job descriptions.”

      I am struggling to be cheerful and do all this new work, on top of finishing a huge number of old projects. I have told my boss that I’m havin0g trouble focusing.

      My boss in the past has demanded that I hide any frustration or sadness. I am not allowed to come out of. Y office if my eyes are red from crying, for example. She thinks I’m over my mother’s death or maybe she thinks I should be. I am trying to follow her lead, and put work first, last, and everything in between.

      I have requested vacation time in previous years and never gotten a response from her. I was shocked when she insisted I take Monday through Friday off. My mother’s funeral wS on Wednesday, and I figured she would ask me to come back on Friday.

      I need to keep her happy, and be exactly how she demands, but I don’t know how.

      I feel stupid and worthless and lazy because I’m not willing to say screw you to mourning my mother.

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  8. Jennifer  April 25, 2021 at 1:09 pm Reply

    The entire mess that my family is in is going to sou d so surreal. Before I get into what happened I want to say I’m here not just for me but mainly my daughter bc she is really struggling with our loss(es) right now and I’m going to call places this week to help her with this. She just turned 19 on March 25 and I just had a birthday March 20. On March 22 my lil brother who was 30 took acid at his home and my daughter boyfriend who was about to be 19 and who she has been with for 5 years now and lived with for 2 years went to my brothers home that night because they were friends and worked together. Him and my brother used to shot guns at his house bc there was an old abandoned home in the middle of a field that they would do target practice at. So her bf took hos gun up there with him like he has before. He didn’t realize the state my brother was in when he walked in the house and he had set his gun down or let my brother see it we really arent sure about that part and it ended very badly. Her bf was shot in the heart area on the left side and my brother on the right side of his head. We all believe it was an accidental shot then he pulled the gun on himself. Like I said he was on drugs at the time and my brother was not a violent person what so ever and they two of them had never even had bad words towards each other. Both families feel them same and we all went to both funerals and still talk to each other. The problem comes in with my daughter and her coping with this. It was right in between both of our bdays on March 22 when this happened and she was living with him for 2 years by this point and this was her Uncle and her bf that passed and she was also close to him as well. Basically she isn’t doing good at all and she has only went back to work 1 time this week and called out 2 days and trying to go in today and she has already called me once this morning hysterical crying on the way to work. I have actually already 2 weeks ago started back to work and no it wasn’t easy but I am older and can cope better than her and I didn’t loss a spouse per say I lost a brother and future son in law. I don’t say that lightly either but to her she lost her soul mate her forever person and I don’t even k ow what to do or how to help her besides getting her some help. I talked to her job and explained to them that she wasn’t ok and they do understand but I also don’t want to see her just stopping her life and getting even more into depression then she already is. This article really help me get some insight and I’m going to show her when she gets home today bc she also just recently moved back home and also get her help and someone to talk to about this. It’s so unimaginable what she is going through and my heart hurts for her. I can even fathom what she is going through. I know that my hurting through this is nothing compared to hers. Thank you for this article. I really hope it helps her in anyway possible right now!

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  9. Jessica  April 14, 2021 at 8:45 am Reply

    I have been struggling immensely with getting back into a work mindset. I recently lost my mother on 03/25/2021 and I have no desire to do anything but sleep and cry. My job has been very supportive, and advised me to take as much time as I need, so I initially took a week off before returning. That first day, I only made it a few hours before I realized it was too soon, and asked to leave early. It’s been almost three weeks now, and even yesterday I had to ask if it was possible to work remotely from home for the day because the day before I sat in my office sobbing. This is harder than anything I have ever gone through. I am the youngest of three and my oldest sister actually teaches third grade at the same school my mother taught first grade at (they’ve been teaching together for several years now). I feel guilty because my sister only had four days off before having to return, and I know it must be so hard for her to walk the halls and see my mother’s students, and here I am not strong enough to hold it together. Thank you for this article. I know that everyone deals with grief differently, and I don’t feel as guilty. I just don’t have the desire to be here anymore. I’ve just hit my six month mark at my job, and I’ve been so excited to progress here and move up, but now I can’t even stay focused enough to get through emails and respond to clients about things that just aren’t so important anymore.

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    • Alia  July 26, 2021 at 12:51 am Reply

      This is exactly what I am going through right now. I am a nurse assistant. I work in homecare. I go back to work this week- it will be 10 days since I lost my mother. I’m going crazy just writing this out but everyone keeps reassuring me to go back to work- I’m afraid to go back. I can’t believe I lost her….

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  10. Lizzie  April 9, 2021 at 4:14 am Reply

    I lost my dad 3 weeks ago. We had just spoken in the morning and we were to talk later that night but he fell and hit his head and died on the spot. It’s been a difficult time for me as I was just starting to want to be close to him again (I lost my brother to suicide in 2012 and I have always held it against my parents for not being there for him). My dad was a really awesome person and I am glad that I lived with him till 2015. I believe he raised me right.
    I have to go back to work next week Monday and I just want to resign and start afresh.

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  11. Nancy  March 4, 2021 at 3:55 am Reply

    THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE I TOO HAVE LOST MY MOM THIS YEAR 1/22/21 AND STILL STRUGGLING TO GET BACK TO MY NORMAL ROUTINE OF WORK. I JUST DONT CARE I JUST DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF MY MOM MY WORLD BEST FRIEND WHAT I DO KNOW EVERYTHING I DID WAS FOR HER. IAM ALL OUT OF PLAYS I MISS HER SO MUCH

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  12. Alexandra Ross Hutton  February 25, 2021 at 3:27 pm Reply

    I lost my mum to breast cancer on December 30th last year,her funeral was postponed till 23/1/21 l am going back to work next week,l work on the NHS nurse bank l know l have to get back,or l will never return just that l will be looking after so many I’ll people who are I’ll and hope that l am able to do this,last week l was thinking l did not want to go back now l hope l am ready to face the work place.

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    • Wendy  March 17, 2021 at 6:05 pm Reply

      I found out my son died while I was at work. A week before Christmas 2020. My bosses were there to hear this awful news. I was inconsolable. I dont even remember driving to my sons house.
      The past 3 months have been truly mind boggling. I feel discombobulated. Forgetful. I dont cry at work. I rarely talk about him there.
      But today, I was teased about my forgetfulness lately, which is fine, but I stated the past 3 months have been cruel. And they all know why. My foreman, who I had high respect for, told me i have to suck it up. That everybody has issues. I said, but my child died and i am having a hard time.
      No excuses.
      I was crushed that he said this. My husband died in 2019. Then the beginning of 2020.. my beloved dog. My aunt. My best friend. My granddaughters cousin. My grandfather. My other best friend. My son. My dad. Then my uncle.
      I’m trying very very hard to “suck it up. But
      my sons death hit me harder than anything.

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      • Sandy  April 6, 2021 at 5:41 am

        Wendy just read your story your post
        What a horrible journey a journey no one would be able to understand, everyone handles things differently through grief and how can anyone even imagine the tumultuous journey your on I guess God prepares some people through tough times and ready for end times. We lost our only son and the pain will never go away ever we never went back to work I’d rather live on less than having to listen to peoples psycho babble don’t ever let anyone tell you to get over it or move on, it’s an ugly world and you will become harder and tougher but for yourself not others just Pray you will see all your loved ones soon💕💕🙏🙏

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      • Louise Carter  July 2, 2021 at 11:12 pm

        Hello Wendy,
        I’ve lost two siblings, one of my best friends and now three months ago I lost my daughter. The loss of my daughter is on an entirety different level. The trauma to your brain when you lose a child in indescribable. NO ONE should be joking or teasing you for being forgetful. That is wrong. I wish I could wrap my arms around you and take your pain away. The fact that you’re at work at all in incredible. Suck it up is an ignorant, uneducated view and it’s disgusting. You will mourn your child as will I for a lifetime. I send you much love. 💕💕💕

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  13. Isabel Escalante  February 10, 2021 at 10:54 pm Reply

    Lost my dad less than a month ago after months of cancer.. I went back to work after a week or so and felt somewhat motivated but two weeks after I feel absolutely uninterested in anything work related and I have moved from caring 100% about work to not caring at all.
    When will this go away .-.

    • Isabelle Siegel  February 11, 2021 at 2:59 pm Reply

      Isabel, I’m so sorry for your loss. I hope this article has shown you how normal it is to feel unmotivated at work after a loss. I, unfortunately, can’t answer your question of “When will this go away?” I do know this: You need to give yourself the space to grieve. Do not worry about moving on, just allow yourself to feel whatever it is that you need to feel. I recommend you read this article: https://whatsyourgrief.com/grief-recovery-is-not-a-thing/ All the best to you.

  14. Lisa  February 1, 2021 at 12:14 am Reply

    Hello.
    I lost my Husband 12/20 and this has been the most difficult time of my life. My Husband had a rupture of a portal vein and the bleed couldn’t be stopped.
    My whole world is upside down and I am lost, alone and heartbroken. I am going back to work tomorrow and this article provided some good tips.
    I am hoping to hold it together. If not, I will go to a safe place and let it out. My grief is overwhelming and don’t know what to do at times with it. I try to focus on happy memories when confronted with triggers. But it doesn’t always work out that way. I have a good support system but they have their own lives to lead.
    I will try my best to move forward however hard it maybe. I wish it wasn’t like this and my husband was here. I miss him with every inch of my being.

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    • Isabelle Siegel  February 1, 2021 at 12:17 pm Reply

      Lisa, I’m truly so sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to you. I want you to know that it is completely okay if you simply can’t “hold it together.” You need to allow yourself to feel whatever it is that you’re feeling. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your support system to ask for help. All the best to you.

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    • Christa  September 10, 2022 at 10:40 pm Reply

      Thank you for your article. My husband died of a liver complication involving the portal vein too and I will be returning to work tomorrow for the first time after my leave. Yep I will get through it find a quiet space when I need to and carry on I have people to call I’m with good people I work with good people I’m grateful. I do worry about my little dog who will be alone for the first time that early in the day I’ll be walking out the door at 6:30 a.m. . And oh boy I’ll be thinking about him too. Anyway good night.

      1
  15. Tami  January 29, 2021 at 7:46 am Reply

    I lost my Mom. She is my whole world and I couldn’t eat or sleep because I can’t get it out of my head. I thought throwing myself back into work would be the distraction that I need to get through this..my boss doesnt seem to get it, and requested – very seriously, that i have a performance improvement meeting face to face in 2 weeks.
    Literally dont think I can handle this on top of it all. Already didnt think that I could live in a world without my Mom. I feel like just checking out of this life that I can’t handle anymore.

    5
    • Nancy  March 4, 2021 at 3:52 am Reply

      I know exactly how you feel my mom just passed to 1/22/21 it’s hard very hard

  16. Paulette  December 8, 2020 at 2:13 pm Reply

    This article helped me alot. I don’t feel alone, like the feelings I am having aren’t normal. I lost my mother 11/25/20 the day before Thanksgiving. Now I’m back at work and I don’t care, can’t stay focused on anything, and am not getting any sympathy from my supervisor as to what I am going thru. I am usually the strong, supportive one everyone reaches out to. Now I do not want to do anything or care about it.
    Thank you

    1
    • IsabelleS  December 9, 2020 at 11:13 am Reply

      Paulette, I’m truly so sorry for your loss. I completely understand how difficult it is to focus and care about seemingly trivial things like work after a death. Is there any way you can speak to someone in HR about your supervisor’s lack of sympathy? All the best to you.

    • Christina  December 17, 2020 at 5:09 pm Reply

      Paulette, I agree the article was helpful in letting me know I wasn’t alone but more importantly I wanted to let you know that our stories are even closer related…and reaffirm to you that you are truly not alone…my mother past away on 11/23/20 – two days before Thanksgiving. At work, normally, I am not only the strong supportive one, I am one of the supervisor’s. I attempted to go back to work, I struggled through the brain fog, explained to everyone the troubles I was having and tried to take notes however my position is a fast pace, time sensitive position that doesn’t allow for tears or frequent breaks. I made it four days before I absolutely broke, I couldn’t remember simple procedures, my short term memory that day would not even allow me to make the notes I needed and nothing would stop the tears and sobbing. I’m coming to realize its not the amount of support you have its the nature of grief. After reading the article and seeing the similarities in our story and the commonality of feeling alone, I felt I had to share something a friend said to me at one of my darker moments. She said, “We grieve just as hard as we loved the person or pet we lost…and judging by the sound of it, your mother was amazing”. It meant nothing when they said it, I barely heard them at the time, but now, almost a month later, when I’m standing in front of a crowd of people and the tears begin to fall, I don’t have the added embarrassment or fear of what people might think…no, I own those tears and I make my momma proud! She was a great woman who deserves me making a fool out of myself to let the world know! I’m sure your mother was just as deserving, I don’t know if you have a religious affiliation or what it might be but I said a prayer for you when I read your story and I’ll keep you, your momma and all the people who have read this or commented, in mind when I say my others…no, we are not alone we’ve just lost our anchors…we will get trough! Live, love and remember…

      4
      • IsabelleS  December 18, 2020 at 10:23 am

        Christina, I’m very sorry for your loss. Thank you for taking the time to comment and to share your perspective. What your friend said is really insightful, and I’m glad you could share it here. Your mother sounds like an incredible woman and you are doing a great job of honoring her.

  17. Ashley  October 25, 2020 at 3:56 pm Reply

    I lost my mom just over 6 weeks ago. She was driving home from her cabin up north to get ready for her garage sale and went off the road (reason unknown) and hit a tree and her vehicle was engulfed in flames. A man stopped to try and help her but she was pinned in the vehicle and he couldn’t get her or her cat out. She wasn’t able to be identified so we had to wait for our dentist to send out her dental records and they officially identified her 4 days later. Her service wasn’t until a week after she passed and we were unable to see her to say goodbye because of how badly she was burned. There has been no closure with this loss and it’s pure torture. I am struggling horribly and just went back to work this past week and I hated it. I can’t focus and all I do is stare out the window and cry and wonder if she could still be out there because that is the feeling I’m left with, that she just disappeared. I’m sick to my stomach most days and have lost the ability to care about things in life. I’m lost. I can’t afford not to work but I really can’t stand being there right now 🙁

    7
    • IsabelleS  October 27, 2020 at 11:01 am Reply

      Ashley, I am so very sorry for your loss and for the tremendous pain you are being made to endure. I want you to know that what you are experiencing is completely normal and valid. You are grieving, and that’s okay! It might be helpful for you to seek out the support of a counselor trained in grief, which you can find here: https://grief.com/grief-counselor-directory/. I hope this is of some help to you.

  18. Maegen  August 11, 2020 at 3:47 pm Reply

    I lost my mom a week ago and I don’t know what to do. I feel lost. My dad died when I was 2 and I have no brothers or sisters to share this with or lean on. I have two boys who have been fantastic and comforting, my husband and my mother-in-law not so much. My husband and I run a business together and he is frustrated that I didn’t return to work after four days and my mother-in-law keeps asking me what’s wrong and telling me that “I’m not myself”. My mom lived in Tennessee and I didn’t get to see her. I tried calling her for two weeks but my cousin told me her phone was on the fritz so I wasn’t able to talk to her. I feel guilty, angry, extremely depressed and cry uncontrollably. I’m not eating or sleeping well but yet I’m expected to go to work and act like everything is okay. Today he told me that I needed to snap out of it and no one cares about him and all the stress he has had trying to run the store.

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  19. asma saleem  February 4, 2020 at 9:57 pm Reply

    My bf passed away last year and it has been hell of time for me because i am depressed. he loved me so much and i never thought he would leave me that soon, i am still grieving. there is no easy way to forget about the loved ones and all the memories created when you are in a relationship. I question so many things about life and death now. He had an accident not long before his passing, it was a hit and run accident, someone just left him to die on the road but thanks to a passerby who called an ambulance for my bf on time, otherwise he would never have gotten the help. My bf went through surgery, it was a hard time for him. Just when i thought things would get better they got worse and he passed away one night in his sleep. I cannot forget those days of melancholy and darkness.

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  20. Dove  August 6, 2019 at 12:33 am Reply

    I lost my dad a year ago to a battle with cancer, then 5 weeks later my little sister was killed at work. She was a kindergarten teacher and was doing parent pick ups after school when a parent lost control of his vehicle and ran her over dragging her across parking lot. Just typing those words are hard. I’m a teacher as well and I only took 2 days off and the weekend and went back. I needed to do something. My question is when will I be able to even think about the way that she was killed without losing it. I avoid thinking about the manner of her death and … I can’t process it without breaking down. I should mention that I come from a large family..8 kids. My oldest sister died in1993 from complications with diabetes and now my little sister is gone. I’m the only girl left. My relationship with my mother is very strained which prevented me from seeing my dad before he passed. I have so much grief and most days I deal with it, usually because I only poke at the edges of it. This is so much harder than when my oldest sister passed. I was a young mother then and busy taking care of a toddler. This has been a very rough year. My baby sister and I lived next door to each other our entire lives until 5 years ago. We did everything together. My dad’s passing was very difficult, but then she was killed. I don’t know that I know how to grieve for them both. It’s overwhelming. So I hide my grief and carry on,. Most days I can find ways to deal with it, but school is starting up again and the Anniversary of their deaths and birthdays are stacked back to back. Just need to find some peace. Just when I think I’m handling it, I’m overwhelmed again.

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  21. Ki Hutchins  June 2, 2019 at 7:52 am Reply

    I lost my 13 yr old nephew to suicide in May 2018 and i took probably 6 weeks off and then I lost my 20 yr old niece to suicide, my nephews older sister in May 2019. I can not face work and am at a loss on even the thought of going back as i work in child protection. I have no idea on what to do. My work has been amazing tgough as it has been nearly 3 and a half weeks so far and i had hardly any sick leave left from the previous year.

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    • miriam  August 28, 2020 at 10:58 pm Reply

      Hi my name is Miriam and I just read your post, not sure if there is a way to get in contact as I wanted to speak to someone that has been a similar situation

  22. proxy list  May 19, 2019 at 1:49 pm Reply

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    1
  23. Tricia packer  February 8, 2019 at 4:13 am Reply

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  24. Rhianna Hawk  December 19, 2018 at 10:38 am Reply

    My dad passed away recently and, as you said, I’m having trouble going back to work after the funeral. We were really close, and your tips on how to ease the transition back into my normal routine really help, especially where you mention updating my coworkers on the situation beforehand. I can definitely agree that support from my coworkers would be very beneficial to my transition, and I’ll be sure to talk to my boss about it, as well.

  25. Lyn  December 14, 2018 at 8:03 am Reply

    I lost my father this past Tuesday. I was working when I received the call. I immediately spoke to my supervisor and decided to stay for the day despite the news since the reality didn’t sink in yet. I finished the day and went home. I spoke to my family about the arrangements and took two days off to grieve. It honestly didn’t really hit me until the next evening.

    I’m still honestly beside myself with grief and can’t focus. This is the first time I’ve experienced loss, not to mention how sudden it was. I didn’t know how to grieve properly. Thankfully, I’ve learned that there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Everyone is different. I’m honestly afraid to return to work and I’m not ready to face everyone yet, but I’m at least going to try.

    • Dina  March 20, 2019 at 5:41 pm Reply

      I lost my dad 1/31/19 and I did the same. I was working from home that day and got a call he was sick, finished work and then right after fell apart. I helped a lot with arrangements. We were very close. Now I find it hard to do anything still haven’t been back to work. I am so nervous to face my coworkers or reality
      I am dreading the are you okay questions. I will try the suggestion of talking to HR before my return to notify everyone. So sorry for all of the commentators losses!

  26. Ven Moc  November 21, 2018 at 4:58 pm Reply

    Work from home

  27. Linda  October 2, 2018 at 4:09 pm Reply

    My boss fired me this morning because I needed 2 weeks off to mourn the death of someone very dear to me. He told me to call him when I was ready to return so I did and he told me. “I don’t have time for people’s emotionality, you’ve been replaced good bye” I found out my friend was killed while I was at work and needed to take time off to process. It’s been really hard to be ok. I told my sister about it and she basically defended his action and said ” he probably thought you were problematic and needed to replace you, that’s business” WTF??? Why are people so fucking heartless? No it’s not how business runs. We are not machines!!! Life is complex and death is a big deal, it changes people. I advocational for people’s self care and mourning process.

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  28. Lance  September 25, 2018 at 3:43 am Reply

    It’s been two years since loosing my best friend and then my dad a week after.
    I’m definitely on the mend , but I’m still very sad. I’ve faced several life challenges since their loss as has my mom.
    Life feels like more of a struggle than it did before I lost them.
    I’ve had SEVERAL very emotional dreams regarding both my friend and my father.
    In both instances I wake up sobbing, but the sorrow lessens considerably as I wake up, as if the dream amplified my grief.
    Not a day goes by that I don’t think of them and other family members I’ve lost.
    Recently, I’ve reached out to another old friend that I lost touch with. Not sure how that’s gonna work out, there was a reason we lost touch.
    I’ve defiantly become somewhat of a recluse – I don’t go out socially anymore. Again, it’s been two years, but I wonder if I’ll ever go out again. It’s just not in me anymore.
    I just lost my job due to downsizing and am facing a health challenge myself now, not quite serious yet.
    I still think about the future with hope, I’m just not sure how to make my way to it.

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  29. Adam Wakely  September 25, 2018 at 3:18 am Reply

    This is my second post here.
    Lost my wife last February, 2018.
    Was my soul mate for 30 years.
    I was off work for 3 or 4 months then came back to work thinking it would be better.
    Well I worked for another few months and I need to take break from work again.
    This is way more difficult then anyone could know unless it happens to you.
    Putting on a fake brave face everyday will eat you alive!!

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    • Jess  October 5, 2022 at 5:59 pm Reply

      Thank you for sharing this. I lost my partner unexpectedly in September 2021 at 34 years old and worked through some rough waters with his family while also working. Work has always been catharsis for me when life is not predictable, because that has always been my stability where I can accomplish something when other things fall apart.

      This time, it did not work. I took a couple of weeks a few months in, but lately I feel the panic attacks and tears close to the surface again so that it is difficult to restrain them. The one year anniversary hit me hard. I keep thinking something is wrong with me that I can’t just “be an adult” about it, that this “should be long enough to get it together”, as if there is some professional hat you can just flip on and suddenly override everything inside you that needs time to just… grieve, I guess. Remember, maybe. Try to fathom what future is without that person. Try to, in my case, wrap my brain around the idea that with a long life I might have to survive the person I thought I would grow old with by almost twice again my current life span. I have never been someone who cries or at least who cannot control themselves until they are alone, rein in emotions. It’s like cracks appear in you and no matter how much you try to hold it back sometimes it just seeps out into everything.

      Others have spoken about shifting priorities and that is part of it also, I think. My partner and I were both ambitious and a lot of my professional drive was the joy of pushing towards our financial and personal goals together. Without him, it’s just money. I need to work, but completely counterintuitively have entertained walking away from a burgeoning senior-level career because money for its own sake, even though we all have to make a living, just does not seem worth it. I can’t say what my choices will be yet and am trying to balance this rift in my life before and now before making big decisions… but I do know that I am not really ready to be working. As you mentioned, wearing that mask somehow makes the truth behind it feel even more hopeless and isolating sometimes.

  30. Jasmine  August 24, 2018 at 10:04 pm Reply

    My only child, was murdered in July 24, 2016. I had a county job with good pay and benefits and I tried going back a few months after, but I decided I wasn’t ready. I tried to return after that in 2017, and I was there for maybe about a month before I started breaking down at work everyday thinking about my son. I told my supervisor that I was having trouble paying attention and keeping focus on my work and I was also breaking down at my cubicle almost everyday. Finally, I asked her if I could do half days, and initially she agreed but later reneged on her decision. I ultimately quit because I just couldn’t take it. I started doing a job that pays way less but it offered me flexibility. I didn’t really like doing what I was doing, so I ended working at another place for maybe 2 months before I quit that. Now, I’m back doing what I was doing before I quit that job…..So now, lol I’m looking for another job because I still don’t like what I’m doing. I don’t really want to conform to a schedule and I’m just having a really difficult time. In addition to that, I founded an organization (which I have no idea what I’m doing) and I’m also trying to run that!!! So as you can see, losing someone you really love is just downright difficult. I wish that they had somewhere for people like us…Oh wait, that’s life right!

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    • Lisa Grogan  November 1, 2019 at 12:02 pm Reply

      Jasmine I would like to get in touch with you
      Lost my dad 2 weeks ago
      Just need to talk

      • Jasmine  November 5, 2019 at 12:48 pm

        My name is Jasmine but I am not the Jasmine you reached out to.
        At first, it felt like a cosmic joke but it feels wrong not to answer…
        My Mom passed away two days ago, exactly two weeks prior to the two-year anniversary of my Dad’s death.
        And on March 28, 2018, I lost the man I deeply cared about, whom I called my U.S. Dad, who was my mentor, my person…

  31. charles Marshall  August 5, 2018 at 6:19 pm Reply

    My mom died a two months ago and the pain has been very overwhelming. I took off 3 months and have had so much time to cry and realize how much life is so precious. I now am at a job that i have been under stress for the past year and have always wanted to quit. When my mother passed I realized that she would not want me to be unhappy and not be at a job that I am not happy at. They do not respect me or deserve the efforts and the sacrifices that I have dedicated to them over the past 3 years. When my mom passed they did not even say sorry for your loss or send flowers to the service. My mom would not want me to be in a toxic place and to enjoy my life to the fullest. I have decided to got back to work and submit my letter o f resignation to them. I need to take care of myself because they will not.

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    • mark  January 4, 2020 at 8:28 am Reply

      Well done , you dont need them

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  32. Eloy  May 12, 2018 at 1:11 am Reply

    Two weeks ago, I lost my grandfather who I was extremely close to. Last week, I left town for the funeral which wasn’t until three days ago, I was asked to work Friday regardless. The one who helped get this job was well aware of this, and still in suggested I go into work (this weekend is my first at work). At work, my boss said if I’m not ready, I can leave. What was time off in their eyes? Me being out of town. They expected me to work immediately upon return. While I was there, the one who helped get the job supervised me, and asked me what’s wrong, that I look depressed. I regret not walking away from the job instead of signing the papers.

  33. Eloy  May 12, 2018 at 1:11 am Reply

    Two weeks ago, I lost my grandfather who I was extremely close to. Last week, I left town for the funeral which wasn’t until three days ago, I was asked to work Friday regardless. The one who helped get this job was well aware of this, and still in suggested I go into work (this weekend is my first at work). At work, my boss said if I’m not ready, I can leave. What was time off in their eyes? Me being out of town. They expected me to work immediately upon return. While I was there, the one who helped get the job supervised me, and asked me what’s wrong, that I look depressed. I regret not walking away from the job instead of signing the papers.

  34. Ligea  March 2, 2018 at 9:43 am Reply

    My heart goes out to those who have suffered loss. It is so difficult!

    Thank you for this post, it is right on target. My mom died December 31 and the grief moments do pop up out of nowhere. I miss her so much, she was my confidant. She struggled with cancer for several years, but that doesn’t make her absence any easier to bear. I do feel apathetic about my job. Thank you so much for your advice, I thought it was just me.

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  35. Ligea  March 2, 2018 at 9:43 am Reply

    My heart goes out to those who have suffered loss. It is so difficult!

    Thank you for this post, it is right on target. My mom died December 31 and the grief moments do pop up out of nowhere. I miss her so much, she was my confidant. She struggled with cancer for several years, but that doesn’t make her absence any easier to bear. I do feel apathetic about my job. Thank you so much for your advice, I thought it was just me.

  36. Adam  February 28, 2018 at 5:32 am Reply

    I just lost my wife or 30 years due to a brain aneurysm. We have 2 young children, 8 and 14.
    This happen on valentines day 🙁
    It was very sudden and she was is perfect health before.
    A huge upset to us all and big life change.
    Doctor is giving me medical leave for all the time I need which is good. (Canada)
    I still can’t believe it even with her ashes sitting here at home.
    I have my family and grateful but I’m so lonely inside my heart.

    2
    • Rose Thomas  October 22, 2021 at 2:58 pm Reply

      I Lost my son 3 weeks ago tomorrow and I just can’t go back they think it’s easy to lose your child and go right back

      1
  37. Adam  February 28, 2018 at 5:32 am Reply

    I just lost my wife or 30 years due to a brain aneurysm. We have 2 young children, 8 and 14.
    This happen on valentines day 🙁
    It was very sudden and she was is perfect health before.
    A huge upset to us all and big life change.
    Doctor is giving me medical leave for all the time I need which is good. (Canada)
    I still can’t believe it even with her ashes sitting here at home.
    I have my family and grateful but I’m so lonely inside my heart.

    • DS1  March 6, 2018 at 6:00 am Reply

      Hello,
      My Mum has very recently passed away and I can’t seem to believe it.
      I’m so grateful for the information in this article as I was beginning to feel so alone.
      My work have been brilliant but now the problem is the longer I am off work, the less I want to go back!
      My Mum’s death has completely floored me and have tried to get counselling only to be told there’s a 6-8month wait.
      Maybe I should just get back to work as sitting at home alone all day isn’t doing anything for my anxiety levels and panic attacks.
      Sending hugs to you all who are dealing with similar situations.

      • MC  September 6, 2020 at 8:43 pm

        Hi,

        How’d you do it? How did you begin to function normally again? I lost my mom unexpectedly almost 2 months ago and I tried to go back to work after a month but it was too overwhelming. My manager reached out to ask me if I had a return date but I don’t know what to say.

    • Paula  November 13, 2018 at 8:01 pm Reply

      Adam, I just lost my husband of 29 years to a brain aneurysm. It is inexplicable how something like this can come out of the blue and take away everything. It was just under a month ago and I went back to work because I just can’t stay at home and cry every day. But I can’t focus on work and I don’t know what to do next. I hope the best for you even though I have no idea what that is. I don’t even want to stop hurting because that’s all I have left of him.

      Paula

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    • B  April 14, 2019 at 5:20 pm Reply

      I so understand. Lost my husband in February. Soil mate for 28 years. We have 2 sons . Still reeling and trying to get back to work but so many triggers. So hard

      1
  38. Stephanie  February 22, 2018 at 9:28 pm Reply

    My husband died suddenly of cardiac arrest on Jan 26, 2018. My company told me to take all the time I needed and paid me 2 weeks bereavement. I worked 2 days from home last week and I took this week as PTO because I had already scheduled it off months ago. I return to my office next Monday, February 26th. I’m very anxious about going back to work. It will be a month after my husband died and my heart is still aching.

    1
  39. Stephanie  February 22, 2018 at 9:28 pm Reply

    My husband died suddenly of cardiac arrest on Jan 26, 2018. My company told me to take all the time I needed and paid me 2 weeks bereavement. I worked 2 days from home last week and I took this week as PTO because I had already scheduled it off months ago. I return to my office next Monday, February 26th. I’m very anxious about going back to work. It will be a month after my husband died and my heart is still aching.

    • Sammy kirton  December 11, 2018 at 1:43 pm Reply

      Hello Stephanie. I lost my partner Alan he was 46 yrs old He passed away on Saturday 24th of November at 8.am 2018 we were together for 15 yrs & 7 months and we live together. It was his 3rd Heart attack. I miss him so much it doesn’t seem real to me. I feel so numb, lonely. It’s Alan’s funeral on Friday 14th of December 2018. I’ve got great family support and close friends who are making sure I’m okay but they have someone to go home to. I read Yr article and hope you are okay. From Sammy kirton

      1
  40. JW  December 14, 2017 at 9:32 am Reply

    Found out my estranged mother had colon cancer and was entering hospice in Oct, she recently passed on 11/30. We did not have a good relationship over the years she gave me away when I was 3 after her abusive spouse would repeatedly beat me locking me in closets and extinguishing cigarettes on my arms and legs. So she chose to give me to my grandfather and basically walked away having other children with him and raising them. I visited or she visted very few times over the course of my life. She never held a job tht I knw of and didnt take care of herself and abused drugs. But of all that including not ever knowing my bio father I still always tired to show her I loved her. When my grandfather passed when I was 17 i lived with friends and finished school She didn’t make it to my grad, wedding but I did fly her out when my oldest was born and attempted to make amends as my “Papa” her dad wanted. But I was used and taken advantage of for monetary gain for her and my half siblings. So I cut that tie and went on with my life tried to help her a few years later and again was made to feel like i was the one that had let her down by not providing her every want. So she went to live with others and we lost contact until recently my ex wife informed me abt her health and she didnt want to speak with me but asked to see my oldest child now 15 which she had only seen twice and I declined not wanting to upset my kids and inform them “hey u have a grandmother and btw she doesn’t like or love me and is dying”. Am I wrong? I am very upset knowing tht the hope of her growing older and finally wanting to be apart of my life is gone the information on my bio father is gone. I have lost so many people (losing most of my friends starting at age 6, 13, 14,17) and each day its a struggle to find the reason to get up. I’m at work today my 1st day back and its so hard. Thank you for giving me a way to vent.

  41. JW  December 14, 2017 at 9:32 am Reply

    Found out my estranged mother had colon cancer and was entering hospice in Oct, she recently passed on 11/30. We did not have a good relationship over the years she gave me away when I was 3 after her abusive spouse would repeatedly beat me locking me in closets and extinguishing cigarettes on my arms and legs. So she chose to give me to my grandfather and basically walked away having other children with him and raising them. I visited or she visted very few times over the course of my life. She never held a job tht I knw of and didnt take care of herself and abused drugs. But of all that including not ever knowing my bio father I still always tired to show her I loved her. When my grandfather passed when I was 17 i lived with friends and finished school She didn’t make it to my grad, wedding but I did fly her out when my oldest was born and attempted to make amends as my “Papa” her dad wanted. But I was used and taken advantage of for monetary gain for her and my half siblings. So I cut that tie and went on with my life tried to help her a few years later and again was made to feel like i was the one that had let her down by not providing her every want. So she went to live with others and we lost contact until recently my ex wife informed me abt her health and she didnt want to speak with me but asked to see my oldest child now 15 which she had only seen twice and I declined not wanting to upset my kids and inform them “hey u have a grandmother and btw she doesn’t like or love me and is dying”. Am I wrong? I am very upset knowing tht the hope of her growing older and finally wanting to be apart of my life is gone the information on my bio father is gone. I have lost so many people (losing most of my friends starting at age 6, 13, 14,17) and each day its a struggle to find the reason to get up. I’m at work today my 1st day back and its so hard. Thank you for giving me a way to vent.

  42. Melissa  October 4, 2017 at 1:49 pm Reply

    I lost my life my best friend and the love of my life July 3rd 2017. He was 47. The past 10 months I was his nurse and worked and took care of him. We would have been married 25 years in September 17th. My birthday was the 22nd. He spoiled me. He loved Halloween. And the holidays are coming and his and our youngest daughter’s birthday same week as Christmas. I am struggling to get through this every day. We did everything together. Half of me died that day. My job I used to love it. I cannot concentrate and wish I was retired. I miss him so much it hurts. I’m so broken.

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  43. Melissa  October 4, 2017 at 1:49 pm Reply

    I lost my life my best friend and the love of my life July 3rd 2017. He was 47. The past 10 months I was his nurse and worked and took care of him. We would have been married 25 years in September 17th. My birthday was the 22nd. He spoiled me. He loved Halloween. And the holidays are coming and his and our youngest daughter’s birthday same week as Christmas. I am struggling to get through this every day. We did everything together. Half of me died that day. My job I used to love it. I cannot concentrate and wish I was retired. I miss him so much it hurts. I’m so broken.

    • Jo  January 3, 2018 at 6:32 pm Reply

      Dear Melissa – I cried so much when i read your post. I also lost my husband on the 3rd July 2017 age 46 and like you i nursed him and watched him waste away. It litrally broke my heart and everyday i still can not believe he is gone. We miss him so much. I dont know how we have got through these last few months, but somehow we have. I didnt want the new year to come because now i have to say Andy died last year and the thought of starting a new year without him was/is unbearable. I hope you found the strength to get through Christmas and the coming months. I just wanted you to know that you are not alone and that deep within you do have the strength to carry on, just a little at a time xx

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      • Melissa  February 13, 2018 at 7:41 pm

        I am so sorry. I am crying as I read your message. It’s unbearable. Brian’s birthday was December 29th and it seems harder since then. I recently was taking my vacation time to use for widows retreat and much needed time off. I was fired. I never have been fired from any job. Now I feel so alone. We made all our decisions together. I cannot go through his things they mean so much to me. I may have no choice. I will need to try to reduce expenses. I need to find a new job that isn’t so stressful.
        I hope you are finding comfort in this nightmare we have to go through. You are not alone either.
        Please take care. One day at a time.

        1
  44. jaz  September 25, 2017 at 8:00 pm Reply

    I lost my son July 24, 2016, just 2 weeks after his 21st birthday; he was my only child! I went back to work about 2 months after for only 2 days and then i took off on disability. I also needed a major surgery so I took time to recover from that as well. I have been a temporary employee for the past 3 years with the exception of last year and they have been really understanding. They recently offered me a new assignment which I thought I was ready for, but it hasn’t even been a month since i’ve been back and already I have taken a day off, half a day last week, and I left after only an hour & 1/2 today. I keep asking myself what am I doing. It doesn’t feel right, I don’t want to be watched, monitored, nor supervised at this point but my finances are low and the job pays pretty good! Bottom line…i’m ready to risk it all and just live on a whim and a prayer. I feel confined in that space for 8 hours, I have to get up and get ready to be there and fight traffic. I’m so screwed up in the head behind this. What am I going to do? Not to mention, I don’t have any boyfriend, fiancee, or husband so it’s me and the dog which i’ve thought about giving away because I can’t love her right anymore. I can’t think at work and I don’t have any focus but I sit there and pretend. This is a new location with new people, and a new task which they don’t properly train you to do. Let me stop, because I could go on for hours about how my life is a wreck and I just want to be able to break down when and where ever without being embarrased. I just want to be a little happy but that job is not going to make me happy…nothing , idk

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  45. jaz  September 25, 2017 at 8:00 pm Reply

    I lost my son July 24, 2016, just 2 weeks after his 21st birthday; he was my only child! I went back to work about 2 months after for only 2 days and then i took off on disability. I also needed a major surgery so I took time to recover from that as well. I have been a temporary employee for the past 3 years with the exception of last year and they have been really understanding. They recently offered me a new assignment which I thought I was ready for, but it hasn’t even been a month since i’ve been back and already I have taken a day off, half a day last week, and I left after only an hour & 1/2 today. I keep asking myself what am I doing. It doesn’t feel right, I don’t want to be watched, monitored, nor supervised at this point but my finances are low and the job pays pretty good! Bottom line…i’m ready to risk it all and just live on a whim and a prayer. I feel confined in that space for 8 hours, I have to get up and get ready to be there and fight traffic. I’m so screwed up in the head behind this. What am I going to do? Not to mention, I don’t have any boyfriend, fiancee, or husband so it’s me and the dog which i’ve thought about giving away because I can’t love her right anymore. I can’t think at work and I don’t have any focus but I sit there and pretend. This is a new location with new people, and a new task which they don’t properly train you to do. Let me stop, because I could go on for hours about how my life is a wreck and I just want to be able to break down when and where ever without being embarrased. I just want to be a little happy but that job is not going to make me happy…nothing , idk

  46. MOSES MOOERE  August 5, 2017 at 10:09 am Reply

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  47. Dani  February 8, 2017 at 4:53 pm Reply

    My Dad died in May of 2014 and my Mom in March of 2015. I was pretty lucky that my bosses were so understanding and gave me quite a bit of time off, but it wasn’t paid and it put a lot of financial pressure on me. It’s been almost 3 and 2 years respectively, and I’m still struggling to keep my attention on point. I’m still having a hard time working up enthusiasm for work and school. WYG has helped me quite a bit just in accepting that this time is hard. Thanks.

    • Torey  August 12, 2019 at 7:25 am Reply

      Dani, when something so tragic happens its hard to think that it can happen to you. My parents we’re my rocks, I never in a million years thought that I would be a very young adult and both of my parents are gone. My dad died after a 7 week battle with cancer in December 2017 and my mother died after a 12 day battle with cancer a month ago. My work has been so supportive but at the same time it’s also unpaid work. Luckily I live in Canada and I can get employment insurance for illnesses (which is what this is considered) but it’s only 55% of my salary. I’ve gone back to work last week but I am thinking I will be taking more time off after this week. It’s too difficult to stay focused, especially considering I also have ADHD. It makes me wonder though – is it difficult because it’s too soon? or – is it difficult because I’ve been away from work since June. I don’t have my mother to confide in.

      My parents were both educators. My father worked for the school district as a Crisis Interventionist when I was in high school. My grade ten year the basketball team at my high school got into an accident in the Canadian winters and 7 out of 11 students died, and one teacher. only 3 students and a teacher survived. My father was the point person for support for the district. One of my best friends died in that accident. My father said that I had to go back to school with everyone else because psychologically speaking you should get back into your typical routine. So that’s all I can think of when I think about taking more time off. I think that my parents would be upset with me. But they never experienced that loss and subsequent trauma I have with losing both parents at such a young age. So in a way it makes me angry that I feel like they wouldn’t support me, but at the same time I can’t help but think they would.

  48. Dade Pepin  January 31, 2017 at 12:14 pm Reply

    My fiancee just passed suddenly on Jan 07 2017. I have gone back to work and it has been helpful because of the structure of my job. I still have a hard time focusing at times and feel apathy towards the job.
    I had gone back to university last semester and did extremely well. I have tried to continue this semester which started Jan 09. I have found I can’t focus on the assignments and don’t really care at this point. I have anger at the school work and myself and feel like I’m failing myself and my fiancee who was my biggest cheerleader of my going back to school and finishing my degree.
    Maybe it was a mistake to go back this semester as I’m also trying to get guardianship of her/ our daughter leading to adoption.

  49. Em  January 24, 2017 at 11:58 pm Reply

    Exact feelings that I am going through. Lost my wife recently (Aug 2016) at a tender age of 34 due to GBM Type IV cancer. We were married in Sept 2014, she was diagnosed in July 2015. We went through surgeries, theraphy, chemo together, and God bless, managed to take a short holiday in Dec 2015 to spend some time together. My bosses/colleagues were/are very supportive and i had a flexible schedule at work.
    But now roughly 5 months after her death, when the normal reality of deadlines, schedules etc from work creep up, all i feel like doing is quitting. Combined with grief triggers (oh yes they happen anytime anywhere) it just doesn’t seem to make sense anymore and i often question why/what am i working for. If it wasn’t for the money (pay bills, the house etc) I’d probably quit in a heartbeat. My priorities definitely have changed from “making it” to just getting by and retiring as early as possible.

    • jacbog  July 2, 2017 at 5:15 pm Reply

      Hey, I would really like to make a contact with you to know how you are coping with grieving. I lost my wife in the battle with GBM IV too, she was only 26. I’m almost 1 month after funeral and can’t get out. We where fighting for whole 4 years. Like your wife she had a lot of surgeries, chemo, and radiotherapy.

      • Em  July 12, 2017 at 3:49 am

        Hi Jacbog, and so sorry for your loss.
        If like me, you can take some time off from work, do so. Give yourself some time to just grieve and be alone in your thoughts (for me, at least). If you prefer the company of parents or friends, do so as well.
        There is really no magic trick or guide i can give you unfortunately, as everyone has different methods of coping. I didn’t force myself to do anything or confront the issue so to speak, so I just took it in naturally and how best i could. My prayers and thoughts with you, and all other who commented on this site.

    • Christina Silveira  February 17, 2018 at 11:58 am Reply

      My husband passed suddenly we have been together since 19 and now we are 34. We married in 2011 but became an item in 2004. He was the love of my life my hero my light in the darkness and there was a lot of darkness. We experience so much together he tought me how a real man should treat a women how a husband should treat a wife, and was just all around thee most amazing man I have ever meet I got lucky so lucky that this man wanted me when no other man had ever. He has never bruised abandoned hurt beat or make me feel bad about my body like just about every man in my life, he went into the hospital Jan 29, 2018 and died jan 31st 2018, while on life support fully endused paralyzed and hooked up to 13 bags of meds and fluids, watchin His decline from the beginning to end has effected me in ways I cannot even begin to understand or explain. And I believe has brought on an already looming ptsd. I just still can’t believe it , we had our while lives and never talked about these things ,so many plans this year we had it all and had that kind of love that you see in the movies ,although I never thought I deserved it , but when he looked me in the eyes and put his hands on my face and said you’re beautiful baby, and fuck every one else I truly believed him and knew it was going to be alright , now…. now I just don’t ever see how it ever will be …”alright”

  50. Misty  January 14, 2017 at 12:36 am Reply

    My mom passed away last Saturday at the age of 68. She had been sick, but her death this soon was very unexpected. I am a hospice nurse, and she had been admitted to hospice services just 3 days prior to her passing. Friday morning she fell at her apartment. I went to be with her and ended up staying all day and all night with her because she also had a medication change the day prior and I wanted to make sure she didn’t have any serious side effects, especially since her gait was so unsteady since her fall. I put her bed at midnight last Friday. We had a wonderful evening together; she was so feisty and we shared lots of laughs and stories. Saturday morning I woke up at 0900 and she was unresponsive, actively dying. She passed away at 130 that afternoon. Since I am a hospice nurse, I cared for her until the end, even performing her post Mortem care and helping the funeral home load her onto the gurney and into the van. I am supposed to go back to work Monday but I am unsure at this point if I will be able to, because of the nature of my work. I think any other job would be a welcome distraction from my grief. But not this job. Also be because I was so close with my mom, she was so young, and her death was unexpected at this time. I feel guilty for asking for more time off but I feel anxious about returning. I can’t eat. I’m nauseous. I can sleep. I’m angry. I’m sad. I deal with death almost every day but this is so different and I have never felt such emotional and physical pain. I did message my boss and she was extremely understanding and receptive to my needs and feelings. So I feel better about that, but I still dread when I actually do have to return and worry that I won’t be able to provide as good emotional/supportive care to my patients and their families because I also will still be so vulnerable.

  51. Bryan  January 6, 2017 at 7:00 am Reply

    I’m very glad I found this thread. I am in such a scary place right now that I really don’t know what to do honestly. 8 days ago my younger brother passed away. He was 30, and I’m 34. He struggled with addiction for many years, as did I. Sadly, he was unable to stop using and my mother found him last week. I have been able to maintain my sobriety and really that is as much as i feel like I can handel right now. We were beat best friends and so close, I tried so hard to help him. He tried too, he just couldn’t do it.
    I am scheduled to start a new job in 3 days and I have no idea how I’m going to be able to do this. The pain has been crushing and I feel lucky if I can even find something on TV to concentrate on for more than 20 minutes. The few times I’ve gone into public, it’s been so hard.
    Maybe just writing this will help in some way, but I will gladly take any advise.
    I have people that I can talk to but this deadline fast approaching is adding so much anxiety to the hardest thing I can even imagine I could personally go through..
    Thank you for reading
    Bryan

    • Misty  January 14, 2017 at 12:46 am Reply

      Bryan, I’m just reading your post and you already had to make a decision about your new job I realize. But no one knows your heart and the grief you feel except you. Nothing anyone will say or do will make you feel better. If you are struggling so badly still, I think you need to be honest with your new employer and let them know what happened and how you are feeling and that you are struggling. No one deals with grief the same. I just lost my mom last Saturday and the grief is suffocating me. I feel so overwhelmed. I did make a post about it if you would like to read. I looked
      Online for ways to verbalize my grief with ppl who understand what I’m going thru. Just like I, somewhat, understand your pain. Be honest with your new boss. If they are not understanding and give you a hard time, I would say it’s not the job for you! Good luck, and thinking of you- Misty

  52. Bob  November 19, 2016 at 12:59 am Reply

    This’s my first week back at the office after a 2-week bereavement leave (well, technically only 4 days had passed since the funeral). My mom passed away on Oct. 30.

    I woke up Monday morning, tired. I eventually ended up bailing out and not even bothering to call in to let the powers that be know (yes, totally irresponsible). My boss ended up calling to see when exactly I was coming back in.

    I’m not in the mood really to do any work, though I did try to close on a few things that need to get done. I’m having some thoughts about just outright quitting right now (I’ve been wanting to for years). It’s just that everything feels so meaningless, and nobody seems to want me there anyhow save for a few that I get along with. The others deserve a big middle finger.

  53. Louise  November 13, 2016 at 5:01 pm Reply

    My Mum died suddenly at the end of July. Three weeks later I was due to move to Spain and start a new job. Not knowing what else to do I followed my plans but am now finding it difficult to cope at work. My work have tried to be supportive but I have had to start a whole new life out here and it is overwhelming. I find work particularly difficult some days as I am a teacher and need to spend my days talking enthusiastically. I find that any additional stress on top of my normal workload very difficult to cope with. Because this is a new job I feel like I can’t ask for time off or for a reduced workload like I would have been able to at home.

  54. Lance  September 21, 2016 at 4:52 pm Reply

    I lost my best friend of thirty years three weeks ago, last week I lost my father. I’ve lost two of my best friends in the whole world.
    I took two days off last week for bereavement and tried to go back to work on the weekend, (I work in retail, two part time jobs). But I ended up having panic attacks due to being unable to concentrate and having to deal with being short staffed and new at one of my jobs. They’ve been very supportive, but I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself to get back to it. I need to get back to it for financial reasons and find it hard reaching out to my new job, which I am in my third week of, to explain my emotional difficulties. My attacks have undermined my confidence in myself and my ability to perform my tasks satisfactorily. I have no support system at the moment as my family is a mess, inconsolable grief and in fighting amongst my mother and my sisters and their siblings. I made an appointment to see my doctor, but he can’t see me till next week. I’m trying to go back to work for the rest of the week, but I’m gonna try to come clean with my employers to let them know what I’m dealing with. I’m hoping for the best in people in a very difficult situation. Although no one has outright said it, I sense a slight, what’s the word..”impatience” as though I had last week to grieve and I should be better by the second week. The problem is, everything’s happened in stages, we only just got my father’s ashes back today, over a week after his passing and there is so much to do for my mother, like getting a lawyer for the will, talking to social security about benefits ect. ect. ect. and it takes a toll on her, she needs me and I need to recover from each emotional event. Am I being too self indulgent? Should I be back to normal by now? I’m just not feeling up to the demands that work places on me at the moment as they don’t seems as important as being there for my family is in their time of need. I’m trying to ease back, but I’m getting a feeling that I’m pushing my luck and it’s only been a week and a day, everything’s still very raw. I just don’t know.

  55. Lu  September 12, 2016 at 1:02 pm Reply

    A year….A whole year has passed and I can not get myself out of this funk. It started September 13th with me having to put my beloved cat to sleep–which may not seem like a big deal to people but he was my therapy cat that I had since he was 4 weeks old (he died 15.5 years old). After holding him in my arms, a little over two weeks later, October 5th, I would do the same for my dad. He was put on a ventilator and I flew across the country to take him off the machines. I had to handle everything by myself (including the house he was hoarding in) in the matter of a week. Including the discovery of siblings/family I never knew about. I literally only took one week off. However, I feel my brain has been off since that week.
    I get things done and it goes pretty unnoticed somehow but if there is something that doesnt absolutely need to get done, I sit staring at my computer all day waiting for the clock to strike 5.
    I use to work 7 days a week, 60 hours, always on top of things. However, the amount of anger and sadness I have in me has taken up all of me. There are boxes of things I still have not gone through, they sit in my closet. I am angry at myself and deal with so much guilt.
    I am sure I should not be grieving this long, but I find myself still. Maybe its the season or maybe it is the dates coming up…but I literally just want to crawl in a ball and be left alone. But I can’t, I have to work. Two meetings tomorrow, and I know I am just not in the mood to be around this place at all. I rather be fishing with his pole and living life outside of this computer space.
    Worse thing is, I don’t even know how to approach asking for leave to deal with this. I mean I took vacations afterwards, and spread his ashes…I should be at peace right? I am sure if I was my boss I would question why I need more time to talk to a therapist. However, I then tell myself–L out of those who lose their parents how many have to take them off life support, deal with financial issues, deal with family secrets, deal with the loss of a beloved animal, and deal with their parents belongings?
    I am frustrated with myself…I want to move forward but I feel stuck.
    I guess my reason for my post: if you don’t feel ready, don’t go back. Cause everyone at work will think you are ready not understanding you are just putting a face on.
    I tried to explain some reasons why I need to work from home and was told that “to be part of the team I need to be here”….So my body is here, but my mind is not. And I feel hopeless.

    • Litsa  September 20, 2016 at 9:12 pm Reply

      Lu, I am so sorry for what you are going through. It sounds like there was a LOT to process when you lost your dad, beyond just his death. It is a common myth that grief resolves after year, so please do not feel like you’re not grieving right or well. That said, if your loss is still making it hard to function day to day it may be helpful to get some professional support. Have you talked to a therapist or attended a support group? There are a number of other articles on our site that may be of some support as well. This might be a good place to start: https://www.whatsyourgrief.com/whats-your-grief-101/

  56. Carole  September 5, 2016 at 8:36 am Reply

    Hello all…
    I just lost my Father on Wednesday 8/31/16. For the last few weeks we knew he was on his way. He was in a nursing home for the last 8 1/2 yrs due to stroke. He was paralyzed on his left side. In the last few weeks he stopped eating, drinking and talking. It was heartbreaking and there were times I just wanted him to be at peace. I am usually the type of person who sleeps a lot. Since he passed I feel like an insomniac. It is all surreal. For a few minutes I’m fine & then I’ll see a picture or old letter or a sweet memory will pop up and I’ll just cry. The day my Dad passed, my mom ended up falling at home, face first. We had to call an ambulance so I spent the evening in the hospital with her…and she missed the wake and the funeral. I don’t think it has hit her, what has happened and I’m worried and terrified of how she will feel once/if it sinks in. My parents were married for 51 yrs & the most loving people I will ever know. I told my Dad before he passed that we will take care of mom. He was always worrying and concerned about everyone around him. My Dad was the most genuine man I’ve ever known. He was 82 years young. I truly hope he is at peace and watching over me.
    Tomorrow I have to go back to work. I have no PTO left because I was sick earlier this year and needed my gallbladder out so I called in sick an awful lot. They have been understanding throughout everything but I’m afraid I’ll be a basket case at work and will need to leave. I don’t know how I can take more time, as it would be unpaid and I don’t know how long my job would go along with this. I seriously hate the thought of going on with life, everyday things without Dad here. The 3 days after he passed went at 100 mph. I was afraid of how I would feel once it was over and you just have to “go on.” My heart is broken.

  57. Fern  August 22, 2016 at 8:56 pm Reply

    So glad I found this site. My grandpa passed away 3 days ago, suddenly from a heart attack. I live overseas so I couldn’t even make it back for the funeral, there was not enough time. We were very close as he was a huge part of my life growing up, and he was healthy, so I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t get to say goodbye to him and this has made it all so much harder. I’ve cried several times since it happened, and am having such a hard time dealing with the fact that I’ll never see him or hear his voice again. I came back to work today but I have not been productive at all. I cannot focus no matter how hard I try and my chest feels so heavy. I’m also likely going to be transitioning to a new role in the company soon and I really hope that by the time it happens, I’m able to be fully functional again. Hugs to you all, we are all together in our pain.

  58. Stephanie  August 14, 2016 at 4:15 am Reply

    This was a helpful article. Any advice or articles for people who are still struggling with grief years after a loss? I lost my daughter in 2014 & I still have moments at work where I just want to collapse into grief. I had to leave work tonight because of it actually. It was very hard to focus & the pain felt so fresh. Those moments are hit & miss but it seems like they always happen while at work 🙁

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  59. Fra  August 6, 2016 at 11:19 am Reply

    I started a new job 2 weeks after my mothers death as I thought it would be a distraction & would help my frame of mind. How wrong was I….. After working there for 3 months with zero sympathy or empathy from my new work colleagues, non of which I knew prior to my Mums death as I’d moved country & home to look after my ill Mum, I have now found myself not fit for work for the past 2 months.
    There is no time limit as 3 months after my Mums death it knocked me for 6.
    I’m still out of work & honestly don’t know if I’ll be ever fit to go back ?

  60. Tee Bird  July 10, 2016 at 7:03 am Reply

    I just lost my mom this week, and feel a lot of things, sadness, numb, sometimes just nothing. And relief. She had been living with a lot of emotional pain for the past 6 years since my Dad died, and a nervous breakdown changed her, though her health held out (for the most part). However, it was hell trying to manage her, finances, and her stubborn will. She refused to go to the doctor often, but I forgive her. The love she shared with my Dad was once in a lifetime. I did resent her for not carrying on, especially since I and my daughter lived with her, figured she would care because of that. But I don’t blame her, especially seeing how I feel. My company let me off the week, but I want back. I now have to face probate and moving, but I’m accepting it. I cry everyday. I also have a front desk job so I feel this need to be always on, but I am deciding to be realistic. If it’s too much, I will let them know. I’m so glad I found this website. Makes me not feel alone.

  61. Cassandra  June 23, 2016 at 1:23 am Reply

    I found out on Saturday my grandma was dying so in ten minutes I was at the nursing home and she was gone. I had about 8 hours before I went to work. I sent a message to let everyone know what happened. A hour or later when I got home I got a call asking if I could come in early. I said I just lost my grandma and haven’t slept. We just fired one of coworkers so we are very short. I went to work. Then on Sunday was frathers day and lot todo. Monday had cloths to pick out, and things to do. Got a call that someon wanted to switch with for a different shift on Thursday I sad no because after tuseday I work four. Tuseday was the funeral. Busy all day. This morning went to see grandpa, then spent time with uncle who’s out of town. Home hurry off to work for second.

    We’re I work I mostly work third but because we fired someone I’m all over the place for the next month. I went to work today and was asked by my manager if I switch Thursday from third to second I had to say no. I explained why and the look I got was evil.

    Remember tuseday was funeral, worked second today, third Thursday and Friday, then second in Saturday. Then busy all Sunday before I get a day to do nothing before I’m at it again. Tried to asked for second off today Monday and hit we got no one else.

    • Cassandra  June 23, 2016 at 1:36 am Reply

      I meant asked for second off for today on Monday. Not in Monday.

    • Litsa  June 25, 2016 at 10:16 pm Reply

      Ah Cassandra, I am so sorry your job has not been more sympathetic to what you are going through. I wish I had something constructive to offer, but my best suggestion is to try to get rest and take advantage of the time you do have off. You are in our thoughts and I hope you find support on our site as you go through the weeks and months to come.

  62. Lisa Diesel  June 3, 2016 at 10:24 pm Reply

    I experienced the inability to focus after my Mom, & Dad dies about a year apart of Alzheimers or other dementias and then my sister was diagnosed with Pancreatic NeuroEndocrine Cancer, and died within 5 months. I thought I had dementia too, I went to a neurologist. I tested out ok. I went for psychiatric testing, which found some impulsivity (ie adult AD) and inattentiveness and major depressive disorder, but not dementia! I don’t think psych testing can determine grief. And I didn’t think of it because I was an RN and used to dealing with death of patients. I went to my FMD and got on additional antidepressants to help with focus. It helped but only a little. I was still making omission errors and I took a leave of absence for 6 months. AT the end of that I had a trial period with my performance but it was still unsafe for the accuracy required in health care. I was fired from my job. But I was allowed to collect unemployment while I sought another line of work, the HR gave me that. I did find other work, that I love and most places are pretty supportive in general, its kindof a work culture. Its retail, but its a specific retail. It did take a while to get used to, and in retail is running a register, and being accurate. I was far from accurate at first, but it came with time and I am grateful others were patient with me. I am mush better now, I am happy and I am looking at grief articles and work that I may have yet to do. Thankyou for this site.

  63. Cometfishyy  May 16, 2016 at 12:18 am Reply

    I lost my boyfriend in a car crash about a month ago. He was only 25. Of course since he isnt a relative, i cant take bereavement leave. But i feel the loss pretty strongly. I went back to work with no time off and personally i think it was good for me in a way… i felt very lost when i first heard the news and work gave me a direction and something to do with my time. But anyway, it hasnt really been easy still… somedays i find myself just staring at the screen for about an hour and my mind is blank. And concentrating has become more difficult… and i sometimes beat myself over it but i realise now that it’s better to be kind to myself and accept that this is grief and how it’s sometimes going to be… the comments on here are really helpful, especially the ones by Eleanor and Litsa about appreciating all the sadness and anger and bitterness as a beautiful part of life. Ive been struggling with trying to be mindful and i kept thinking it meant non-attachment as MeditativeWriter was talking about. But reading the replies has made me realise that i shouldnt fight these negative feelings but embrace them instead. They are a testament of the love we shared and naturally im going to be sad that he’s gone… it’s all such a struggle,trying to find the balance between expressing these emotions and spiralling down into self pity… perhaps i should cut myself some slack and just let it be for a while?

  64. Kristin  May 2, 2016 at 7:48 pm Reply

    I was lucky and could take a full 3 months off… maybe it’s to long. But my job requires alot of mental focus and while grieving I just can’t focus.

  65. Anthony  April 12, 2016 at 7:29 am Reply

    Its not easy going back to work. my son died on march 26th 2016, and i have had a weeks annual leave as well as 3 days compassionate leave (ironic its called compassionate when they can’t even give you a week to grieve and come to some understanding/acceptance of your recent loss) anyways… I’ve returned to the office and feel so disjointed. find my self day dreaming, losing focus, highly irritable, lack of interest as well as compounded and inundated with “so sorry about your son” or even worse “Oh how is your son?” he was born the previous month so people think I’m returning from paternity leave, so having to explain is really a nuisance. I will come across very cold and maybe even bitter (not that I care) to readers as that is how i generally feel. I know that 6 months away from here or 2 days wont change the way I feel.

    The sad thing is that human nature suggests we mourn for our loss and you’d think in this day and age we respect the ones we’ve lost and work just expects you to cry and be like “oh well ive cried its ok now”, that attitude is not correct by any means. Ive returned to work and still have to consider burying my son at a later date. I can not AFFORD to take time off work as bills need to be paid. It’s just so sad. I have had the urge to slap my boss in the face, tell him and a good few others what I think about them then resign whilst damaging as much expensive equipment as possible as I go before the police are inevitably called and I’m reprimanded. OK, a bit over the top but my level of frustration is so high.

    Just be prepared, its really difficult!

    P.s go to your G.P and and your HR Department and declare “DEPRESSION and STRESS” they can’t disprove it, they may give you medication well don’t take it, take the necessary time to grieve properly! When YOU are ready to get back, do so. Bloody society this is? 3 days for the loss of a family member, makes me sick to my stomach!

    I’m booking my appointment to see my GP this week and I WILL take as LONG AS I WANT! Work can NOT do ANYTHING about it!!!!

    • Michelle Mccreight  April 13, 2016 at 4:40 am Reply

      Hi thanks for reply I have bee n back at work a few weeks and doing OK still having down days hope things work out for you only time can healx

      • Alyssa  April 24, 2016 at 11:39 pm

        Hi Anthony, my heart goes out to you over the loss of your son. My 25 year old son died earlier in March too (a car crash). I came to this site because I am a teacher and dreading going back to work…mostly because I am an art teacher and you kind of expected to be this inspiring energetic enthusiastic person….and I find it hard to get out of bed in the mornings at the moment. I feel for you, my hubby had to return to work, and it’s been very stressful, although, his work was way way more compassionate than yours by the sounds of it….The way I look at it now is, after such a huge shattering of your life, all these pressures act as needles going into an open wound. Thinking of you and your wife in what can only be described as a nightmare. I hope you find comfort in the people around you who love you.

      • dana  January 10, 2017 at 11:35 am

        in canada you can go to your doctor and get a note stating that you need ____ so many weeks or months off due to health reasons and then you can apply for a medical leave through employment insurance for up to 15 weeks max – it pays the same as E.I. which is about 65 or 70% of your take home work wage or salery or paycheque.several people at my work have done this.

      • Litsa  January 12, 2017 at 10:46 pm

        Wow, what an amazingly supportive and progressive model. #jealousintheus 🙂

  66. Michelle  February 19, 2016 at 4:59 pm Reply

    Hi my dad passed away on the 9th January 2016 I haven’t been back to work yet I’m due to go back Monday but don’t feel ready I’m due to have councilling.And have been advised by the berveament lady to only go back if I myself feel ready.I miss my dad so much cared for him for a year everyday.then in the end after a 11hr operation to remove a tumor that we were told WS completely removed and given the all clear the hospital let him down with aftercare

    • Eleanor  February 23, 2016 at 11:15 am Reply

      Hey Michelle,

      I’m so sorry about your father’s death and about the grief and pain you are now dealing with. I think it’s great if you can go back to work when you truly feel ready. Although this may not be you, I think it’s important to mention that sometimes it never feels like a right time to return to work after a death. In these instances (and when the job needs to be kept) we do find ourselves in a position where we have to push ourselves a little.
      Stepping back into life often feels uncomfortable at first and sometimes it is only by doing that we learn how to best handle something.

      If you can continue to wait before returning to work, then absolutely pace yourself. But if you find that you end up going back a little before your ready, then I would encourage you to work with your counselor (or on your own) on strategies for handling some of the more difficult/anxiety producing aspects of going back and being there.

      Eleanor

  67. Jenn  November 20, 2015 at 6:43 pm Reply

    I love the tip about getting all the questions out of the way beforehand: “Consider going into work or have lunch/dinner with co-workers before you officially return to work. That allows you to get all those “I’m sorry, how are you?” convos out of the way before you are there to actually work.” – When my sister died, I was absolutely destroyed, and the smallest thing would trigger inconsolable crying. Texting the people I worked closely with about her death, so they didn’t press for details when I saw them in person, was a great way for me to avoid that conversation as much as possible. Of course, there were a few people who noticed my absence, and mentioned it when I returned, who I was not “close” enough to know their numbers and text them about her death. Thankfully, most questions were answered by coworkers I was close to, when people asked why I wasn’t coming in to work. It was a really rough time. Be honest with your employer and HR about your emotional stability. If you’re just going to be sobbing at your desk all day, bumming out the people who sit around you, not getting any work done… they probably would rather you stay home anyway. Why pay you to cry at your desk and get no work done, when you could be home NOT getting paid, also getting no work done? It makes more sense for both parties.

  68. Jen R  October 11, 2015 at 1:43 am Reply

    I’m terrified of going back to work and facing everyone. It’s been 7 weeks since my dad died suddenly. I tried to go back to work a couple of weeks ago (I’m a nurse in a busy dept), but I cried everytime I seen anyone I knew. I lasted an hour that day. So took another 2 weeks off. Need to go back soon but worried I’ll be the same x

  69. Correy Smith  August 25, 2015 at 3:24 pm Reply

    Something like this did happen to a few friends and I. When we lost our friend all three of us were least expecting to hear something about his will. Mainly to see if he wrote something about us. Luckily for us, he did mention us and also mentioned about hiring a family lawyer to write his will before his death. https://www.dmillstonelaw.com

    • BEVERAGE  April 25, 2016 at 1:22 pm Reply

      Wriite a poem or draw a PIC in m I was reading on no a rguments taking tivme up SORRY about both your sons….I’m on this page because I MITE have to deal with a very close persons death…I’m already depressed because it in volves CIRROSSIS thanks for the input and Alysia maybe a piece of art in memory and FELLOW a poem…. If this helps Great! Beverage p.s. middle name of a non drinker..except agua

  70. MeditativeWriter  July 23, 2015 at 6:13 am Reply

    Hello Litsa and thank you for the detailed answer.. fortunately I wasn’t close to you so i’ve escaped the punch on the face! I didn’t mean neither to offend anybody nor to be rude. I would like to answer some of the topics you’ve raised!

    If you are not attached to somebody how would you be hurt by his/her loss? You don’t need him/her, there is no image of him/her being necessary to you, being necessary for you to be happy, so there is no image to be destroyed.. the mechanism of hurt necessary involves an image that is destroyed.. let’s say someone says “you are such a cruel woman” and if you’ve created an image of being “sensitive”..now this image is broken and you feel sorrow, there is so much energy invested on this image and now this is broken and sorrow is invited. So inevitably the absence of images (which is actually another thought – thoughts constructs images) makes it impossible to get hurt.

    I’ve not specific knowledge on buddhist philosophies, Plato, Socrates, Heidegger etc. but I would say non attachment is necessary for a true relationship, or either it’s an imaginary one. Also grief is not an inevitable side effect of relationship.. thought I should say we are mostly experiencing such kind of relationships (which involve grief). Having said that I would say grief has nothing to do with deep relationships, grief takes place because our relationships are quite emotional (but these emotions are born of thought, it’s a reaction to thought, they have nothing to do with truth, they are not authentic emotions, like the joy of connecting with “what is”) and rather superficial, based on psychological needs (like a market place where I buy and sell safety, pleasure etc) and not on actual love.

    I don’t imply an ultimate goal at all (let’s say to avoid grief)! On the contrary! To avoid grief is another expectation, another hope, another goal, and it would be silly to do that. I mean it’s silly to try to avoid expectations (I mentioned earlier that expectations, hopes etc are responsible of grief) by creating a new expectation (to avoid grief). Nothing of thought can actually help.. so I don’t struggle, I don’t move at all, I stay still, remain with my grief, silently observe it, non judgementally (this answers another topic you raised in your answer), choicelessly, passively.. and then strange things happen! So I don’t imply one should feel no grief! On the contrary, I say observe it, don’t analyze it, don’t hide it, don’t try to find explanations, don’t feel bad about it.. just to see what is.. there is ONLY grief – actually I AM GRIEF – and once I don’t escape by means of conceptual creations (I will meet my loved one in heaven etc), intellectual tricks etc, a new passion is revealed. I don’t speak only of grief due to loss of loved ones, I speak generally about sorrow.

    Sorry for my poor english, and again, it wasn’t my intention to make anybody angry, or sad or anything like that. I am sorry if this happened.
    If allowed I would like to add a link to what I feel this passive observation is about – if you give me permission for that-.

    • Eleanor  July 23, 2015 at 9:21 am Reply

      MeditativeWriter,

      Thank you for your response. If anyone has been offended, I’m sure they will appreciate your apology. However I can almost guarantee your clarifications will resonate with very few. I’m not sure if you’ve ever experienced a loss, and if you have and this is what resonates with you then great; but personally it seems like your perspective screams of having no grasp on what it means to experience the death of someone you love, it is minimizing, preachy, and completely unrealistic. I have to say, lack of attachment to the point where you don’t feel sorrow at losing someone you love sounds horrible. Like Litsa says, I appreciate a healthy range of emotions around life, love and death – there is immense beauty in all of these things and there is immense bravery in allowing yourself to feel a range of emotions both good and bad.

      I think the bottom line here is this. Your initial comment was clearly made in an effort to leave a link to your site and to drive traffic, but I think it would be wise of you to understand that grief websites (and I guess technically I can only speak for mine) are maybe not the right place for you. There isn’t nearly as much synergy between grief and your views as you believe there is.

      Eleanor

      • MeditativeWriter  July 23, 2015 at 9:50 am

        Hello Eleanor. If getting link to my site was the reason for these comments i wouldn’t spend so much time to give such detailed description of my point of view (if you wish you can remove the link to my article, obviously). The matter of sorrow is very interesting for me, this is why i wrote to this blog! Saying something sounds unrealistic, saying that non-attachment is horrible puts an obstacle in inquiring.. why you say complete non-attachment sounds horrible? why is it impossible to not attach? Why is it necessary to attach to others? Probably you’ve never thought of these questions – as for me, i’ve never thought of all these things for 32 years (only during the last 2 years i am questioning everything).. i was in a state similar to what you or Litsa describe. I just want to make a statement which is “observe what is”.. that’s all. All i’ve written in the previous lines is outcome of that.. i am not judging people for feeling grief, i am not implying a sense of being higher, sorrow and grief is in my life, but i am just observing.. how can be possibly anything wrong on being mindful, on being attentive, on observing?

      • Eleanor  July 23, 2015 at 11:00 am

        We are happy to leave your link. We do not wish to exclude people’s points of view, but when a point of view seems to minimize the experience of many of our readers we will respond and ask for further clarification.

        Regarding non-attachment, it sounds unrealistic and horrible to me – for others maybe it is ideal and that’s fine. There is no obstacle in inquiring, I just don’t see a need to. You have yet to say why living in this way is good or why someone would want to seek it. To not feel attachment, fear death, or feel sorrow? Frankly, I’m perfectly comfortable and okay with these things.

        Please believe me, we understand the concepts of mindfulness and acceptance, but these concepts are what allow you to look at things like sorrow, sadness, grief, and fear and accept that they can exist and not harm you. Mindfulness and acceptance strive towards co-existence, not extinction. I appreciate your input and your perspective, thank you for sharing them and we wish you luck with your website.

      • MeditativeWriter  July 23, 2015 at 12:31 pm

        Thanks again for answering and spending moments for participating at this conversation. What i would like to add is that the ideal of non attachment is quite different of actual non attachment, the concept of mindfulness is not mindfulness. The word is not the thing.. i am not talking of a concept here, a concept i should follow to achieve an ideal.. so a concept of mindfulness puts you in a position to try to be mindful, which is completely different to just being mindful.

        I don’t imply that a specific way of living (based on ideals of mindfulness or non attachment) is what we should seek (to answer your question of your last message’s second paragraph).. on the contrary i say, get rid of all ideals/concepts etc and just observe what is. This is a simple statement, if you wish you may inquire on it and see if it’s true or not, if it makes sense or not. If now your question is “why someone would want to seek -what is-” i don’t say that, you don’t need to seek anything.

        Thanks for giving me the opportunity to express my perception.
        George

        I don’t know if this convey anything

  71. MeditativeWriter  July 22, 2015 at 6:47 am Reply

    I would doubt that a better and smoother coming back to work after a death is a matter of tips and hints.. i would say to live your life fully leaves no space for fear of death and sorrow for losses.. someone should delve into what death is, not to imagine what death is, not to create concepts and ideas (of an afterlife etc).. just remain with the fact of death and realize that once you live your life fully, living every moment, there is no space for death.. if allowed i would like to link to my latest diary related to death, probably it may give some interesting ideas: https://www.meditativediaries.com/to-live-is-to-die/

    • Litsa  July 22, 2015 at 9:25 pm Reply

      Meditative Writer, I have to say, your comment is really concerning to me for two important reasons. First, I think you fundamentally misunderstand the relationship between life, death, and grief. Fear of death (or lack there of) and grief are fundamentally distinct. Just as one’s belief in an afterlife or a belief that one will see their loved ones again does not diminish the deep and bottomless pain of losing someone we love, living a mindful life of non-attachment with “no fears, no thoughts, no expectations, no hopes” also does not (and should not!) diminish the pain we feel when we lose someone we love. Your post pulls from many Buddhist concepts but you fail to acknowledge in your comment that Buddhists specifically acknowledge that non-attachment does not mean lack of relationships and lack of grief after a loss. You seem to imply that grief, sorrow and pain are to be avoided and I am not sure why. Grief is our natural response to loss. It exists because of deep, meaningful and important relationships we hold with people and the void we experience when they are gone. It allows us to know ourselves better, understand our relationship with the person who died in a new and deeper way, and it can be transformational in some situations. I see no reason, in my experience or what you have said in your post, that it is something we should busy our way out of. Feeling grief, experiencing the depths of those emotions, is (in my opinion) part of the definition of living life fully. As we grieve, the emotions change shape as days, months, and years pass. We continue our relationship with our loved one through the things they taught us, our memories of them, the way they inspire us. Yes, sometimes that is painful, but it is also beautiful and authentic.

      Concern two: your comment really really minimizes the grief of others. There are many people who have suffered deep and unimaginable traumas and losses that make it difficult to even get out of bed in the morning. There were moments in my own grief where, had you been in front of me and made the comment you make above, I would have strongly considered punching you in the face :). Over the many years I have worked supporting grieving individuals after devastating losses, their main concerns often begin with how to get through the day. Many feel totally stigmatized by friends, family and society because of our collective fear of difficult feelings, like grief. We want people to “get over it”, “find closure”, “move on”, or “live your life fully leav[ing] no space for sorry for losses”. Why do we want that? In my opinion because we are uncomfortable with letting people express and experience pain because it scares the shit out of us. People stop opening up to others because they are so tired of hearing comments like that, that minimize what they are going through. As human beings part of a full life, one of the most important parts, is the incredible relationships, connections, and community we build. We are allowed to grieve when we lose that and, ideally, we should be able to do that without judgement from others. Instead we would hope for acknowledgement, understanding and support from others. We understand each other more deeply when we are open to each other’s pain and learn to support one another, not shut each other down.

      Last thing, I am really curious about why you think fear of death is a problem. Obviously I think you convoluted two issues, as fear of death and grief are not fundamentally connected. But I am interested in the fear of death discussion for other reasons. As human beings, especially in our culture, we avoid anything that may be hard or uncomfortable and we have this tendency to assume that discomfort is a problem or should be avoided. But why? I have a fear of death and I feel pretty good about that. We all know the arguments of Epicurus and Socrates, but in my mind that is just avoidance for the sake of avoidance. I have a fear of death and I don’t find that problematic in any way, I don’t want to eliminate the space for that. I am no Heideggarian, but I certainly embrace the value as being-towards-death. Embracing the fear of death isn’t inherently bad just because it can be uncomfortable, rather it pushes us to have authentic experiences, to embrace every moment, feeling, relationship, etc knowing that death is a constant inevitability. I feel pretty darn good about my fear of death -I accept it as part of me, part of life, and part of what helps me live in a deeply inspired way. If you have written any posts on this, or have any thoughts, I would love to know!

      Also, you may be interested in this post I wrote here on how I think the concept of impermanence can be useful in grief: https://www.whatsyourgrief.com/grief-and-buddhism-comfort-in-impermanence/ and this one on how getting a BA and then an MA in philosophy (before I went on to get an MSW and do this whole mental health/grief thing) is what replaced a grief support group for me after I lost my dad when I was 18: https://www.whatsyourgrief.com/college-grief-finding-a-support-group-of-dead-white-men/

  72. Jeanne  July 21, 2015 at 3:43 pm Reply

    Thankyou for all the helpful advice!

  73. Fredda  July 21, 2015 at 2:13 pm Reply

    Thank you for addressing this often-awkward adjustment back to the workplace. As the Clinical Director of Adult Programs at OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center in Los Angeles, we often get calls from grievers and from HR departments with questions about the very topics you have raised. Sometimes we forget how much impact the death of a colleague or their family member can have on the workplace. Thank you for recommending the preparation for everyone BEFORE the griever returns to work.

  74. Ann  July 21, 2015 at 6:30 am Reply

    After my brother’s recent passing, I thought that going back to work would make me feel normal again. I’ve lost both my parents within the last 8 years and I guess I thought I knew what to expect in my grief. No loss is the same and no grief is the same. I have really struggled with my brother’s loss. While going back to work has helped in easing back into life, it was easier because I did it gradually. Thank goodness I work with amazing people who talked me into staying home longer than I originally thought I would. I am so glad I had the opportunity to spend time with my family and to spend time by myself. It has also started a conversation with my company on revising a bereavement policy. I was fortunate to have had PTO available to use but not everyone has that luxury saved up.

  75. Chelsea  July 21, 2015 at 2:15 am Reply

    When my best friend died, we were both children, school was our job… still that didn’t make starting 4th grade less than a week later any easier. I still felt like the world I knew had shattered and I was still picking up the pieces with no clue which ones went where. There was nothing about that time that felt normal, it was a long and very dark time and it was just getting started. All my other friends and classmates were focused on homework and the field trip to the county fair… all I wanted was my friend back…

  76. stephanie  July 20, 2015 at 5:36 pm Reply

    I am a hospice nurse and our organization give a week (5 days) of bereavement leave. I took an extra week off when my mother died and now, 6 months later, I am still having trouble working. I get lots of support from my colleagues but if I didn’t love my work and my coworkers so much, I would probably look for a new job. It’s REALLY hard.

    • Litsa  July 20, 2015 at 5:50 pm Reply

      Oh Stephanie, I am so sorry. Being a hospice nurse is such important, but difficult work. Thanks for all you do! Though I can’t imagine that circumstance exactly, I know from working in a hospital with families at end of life that is it so hard because it brings up our own “stuff”. We are often more vulnerable than we have ever been, making it so much harder to be there for others. “Compassion Fatigue” or “Vicarious Trauma” are very real and when we have our own losses that can make it even harder to support others. That is great that you are getting lots of support at work. Keeping communication up when things are especially hard is important. Have you considered talking to your EAP, a counselor, or joining a group? They can also be great sources of support.

  77. Lydia  July 18, 2015 at 4:11 pm Reply

    Thank you so much for writing about this! I am so grateful that you guys responded to my emails as well. Your response and this article has made me feel much better. I am still feel like a, “9 year old boy with ADD” but it has gotten batter. Haha, I think now maybe I am like a 14 year old boy with ADD, but forgets to take meds some days. The end of this week has been very productive and I am not as worried or guilty about my work responsibilities. I also found out this morning that in addition to my younger sister’s passing, my grandmother passed away. She had been in a hospice situation for a few months (and really has not been herself for a few years) so it is actually more of a blessing. I am mostly relieved for my dad who had been by my grandma’s side for a visit each day and now I don’t have to worry about him as much. Thank you again! I am so grateful for your website and podcast!!!

  78. LUV  July 16, 2015 at 7:04 pm Reply

    OMG – is that video of the gal with booze under her desk meant as a JOKE!?!??! Shame on you!! That’s an insult to everyone who’s lost a loved one..shame on you.

    • Litsa  July 16, 2015 at 9:36 pm Reply

      Hi Luv – that photo is of course meant as a joke, as is the other image in this post. As I say above it, we hope if you need to cry at work it is without wine! We run this site because we ARE people who have lost loved ones (who just happen to be mental health professionals), and humor has been an important part of what has helped us cope. If you have spent time on our blog, you probably know humor is an ongoing part of our writing. We know our style isn’t for everyone, but we certainly never want to offend. My apologies if this didn’t sit well with you. This image looked a lot like what I wanted to do when I went back to work after losing someone very close to me, though it certainly isn’t what I would recommend 🙂

      For you, or anyone else, who may be struggling with alcohol or wanting to learn more about how alcohol can become a problem as we grieve, we have several articles here addressing that. Here are two to start with:

      https://www.whatsyourgrief.com/grief-mindfulness-and-alcohol/
      https://www.whatsyourgrief.com/understanding-grief-alcohol-brain/

      Take care,
      Litsa

  79. Jean  July 16, 2015 at 1:32 pm Reply

    My mother passed away in June after suffering from leukemia, (AML). She was diagnosed in feb and died in June. I took 7 days off over two weeks. My employer only paid for 2 days compassionate leave. And I work in a NHS medical centre.
    These GPs in these centres are so callous and greedy. Only one of the Gps asked how I was, one of them even had a go at me on my first day back for an error I had made. No compassion from them what so ever. Truly shocking.

    • Karol  November 24, 2016 at 3:52 pm Reply

      I am so sorry to hear that! Shame on them. Losing your mother has such impacts on your life. The system makes no sense at all.

  80. Marcheta  July 16, 2015 at 11:39 am Reply

    Thanks again for realistic and heartfelt suggestions and guidance. When my 31 year old brother passed suddenly on 12/17/13 – my amazing job, said please don’t return until after the holidays (with full pay).This was truly wonderful – mainly because our on the record time is only 3 days!!!! I returned right before NYE. The other things I did (thanks to WYG) is that on the job, I wrote intense emotions on a post it and put them in a sash…. Every time, approx one year later – I read don’t get on the grief train post and I read a few of the things I wrote down and tossed the rest. Nowadays it’s not easier it’s just different. Leon’s Sister, Marcheta

  81. marypat  July 16, 2015 at 7:40 am Reply

    This is a HUGE issue. When my husband passed from cancer after being ill for 17 months and on hospice one of my bosses insisted I come back after 2 days! (I have up to 5 days for immediate family.) She thought “After 17 months I’d WANT to “get back to work.”……..HELLLLLLOOOOO!!!!! My reply to her was that my counselor felt it was best for me to take the entire 5 days I was allowed. HONESTLY????!!!!

  82. Tricia E. Bratton  July 16, 2015 at 2:35 am Reply

    Thank goodness I live in England, a country with a much more compassionate view about having a life and needing time off work. I had three weeks off, after my husband died suddenly, no questions asked. I was told to take whatever time I needed. I went back to work on a phased return and did that for a few months, but was still so exhausted that I talked with my manager and HR and took two more months off, paid, returning to work at the first of the year, again on a phased return. Recently, I have gone to half time, all with the support of my manager, who understood, somehow, the exhaustion that comes with grief and my need to pursue some kind of life beyond work. I am 58, so not in ‘career building’ mode. I would retire completely if I could afford it. But the sick leave policy (and bereavement leave) is so much more realistic and supportive here in England, and I am so glad. I would have had to have quit my job, entirely, if it was like America. (I am an ex-pat).

  83. sandra  July 16, 2015 at 12:49 am Reply

    thank goodness i wasnt working when my fiance died. i drove a taxi on weekends so did he at the same company. it was VERY hard to go back there. not hearing his voice over the radio was VERY hard to take. at first i could only do an hour here and there, so many times i had to sign out early and go home and cry myself to sleep. luckily my coworkers understood cause they were grieving right along with me. took me a long time to be able to do a full shift. i hope everyone takes their time and gives them selves a break when they need it. i know its not easy to be at work when your mind is elsewhere. so sorry for everyones loss.

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