Articles

Grief affects us all in different ways and there is no specific time period that it takes to stop grieving. The loss of a loved one will be with you for the rest of your life, but whereas some days you will cope fine, other days will be a struggle. It is common for some days to be particularly emotional and sad if it is spent celebrating a special occasion. Whether it is the birthday of your loved one, a ...Read More

Thinking about funerals is never a happy task. Whether you have lost someone close to you, or are thinking about your own funeral plans, you might find it difficult to consider all the different elements of a funeral. It can be overwhelming to understand what type of funeral you would like to organise. Nowadays, there is not just one way to have a funeral. So many elements of funerals have evolved over the years.   In Victorian times, a funeral ...Read More

  There was a time when choosing funeral music meant picking from a list provided by the funeral director, which contained a limited selection. Usually these songs were traditional and either instrumental or hymns. Times have now changed. We now have the choice to play pretty much any song, so the options are completely up to you and how best to celebrate the person’s life. Choosing music for a funeral helps create a personalised service that pays tribute to a ...Read More

At the best of times, it can be difficult to talk about the subject of death and of dying. The topic can leave us feeling awkward, uncomfortable and overwhelmed with emotion. This unpleasant cocktail of feelings is only strengthened when we are faced with someone who has recently lost someone close. It can be tough to know what to say, what to do and how to act when you see them for the first time since their loss occurred. Here ...Read More

It would be very easy to blame an aversion to speaking to our loved ones about their death on the famous British stiff upper lip. The truth, however, is that speaking to someone you love about the end of their life is a struggle that is universal and shared. Knowing that someone we love is approaching the end can be hard to accept. While in years to come we might wish we had asked deep and profound questions, in reality ...Read More

A sudden or violent death can leave survivors in a desperate place. When a death is unanticipated there is no time to prepare yourself for the grief that you will face, and you may feel resentful, angry and cheated as well as an immense amount of distress and sadness over the nature of what has happened. In addition to this, there are different types of challenges and pressures that come with a violent death. At the same time as confronting ...Read More

Many people choose to spend the end of their lives at home, rather than in another setting such as a hospital, hospice or a residential care home. There can be many reasons for this decision, but often it is because of the familiarity and good memories that come with a familiar environment. However, living at home in those final days almost always requires the support of others, often with the responsibility for care being passed to loved ones, friends or ...Read More

Talking about the end of our lives isn’t something that people find easy to do and because of this our wishes can often go unheard and unfulfilled. Currently in the UK it is estimated that less than 40% of people have told anyone what they would like to happen to them when they die. Planning for the future isn’t something that we should shy away from. From deciding on where we will live if our health deteriorates and how we ...Read More

One of the biggest fears that we have when we lose someone close to us is that, as time goes on, we will forget who they were. Important aspects of their personality that made them who they are, important events that happened in their lives, and just the simple things that gave them enjoyment can all slip from our memory as we age. Not only do we often want to keep these memories for ourselves, but also for the next ...Read More

If you have discovered that you have an incurable illness that has limited your life expectancy to a short space of time then you will likely be very distressed. There is no right or wrong way to feel when you find out and you may experience a variety of different emotions along the journey. When you first find out you may feel angry, scared and helpless or may have a period of denial where you find it hard to accept ...Read More