Bereaved by Suicide Service (Berkshire)

Feelings after a suicide

Bereavement is a painful experience for anyone, but when you lose someone because of suicide, it can be particularly devastating.

As well as coping with your loss, the added complexity of suicide can be incredibly distressing and cause you to experience strong – sometimes overpowering – feelings.

Every person experiences bereavement differently and your feelings may change from day to day. Over time you may feel a wide range of emotions. Talking about what you’re going through and how you feel can’t change what’s happened, but it can help in other ways.

While those around you may want to help support you, they may also be struggling to cope at this difficult time. So having someone else to listen and help can be very important.

We can help

As the impact of a suicide can be so great, we provide a dedicated bereaved by suicide support service throughout Berkshire.

Our caseworkers will contact anyone who asks for our help and can tailor support to meet your specific needs. Our caseworkers can visit you at home or somewhere else where you feel comfortable and, if needed, they can see you regularly over a period of time. All the help we provide is confidential and free.

Practical help

Life can fall apart for those left behind after a suicide, so our caseworkers can also give you practical support. We can help with everyday things such as dealing with phone calls, letters, or even helping with funeral arrangements.

We can also help with housing and benefits, and are able to provide a coordinated approach to assist you in accessing therapy and peer support. In addition, we can give you information about the police, coroner, inquests and all the other formal processes that may become involved after a suicide. If there is specialist help or support that you need, and that we can’t provide, we can arrange for others to help. This can mean putting you in touch with other specialist organisations or arranging things like professional counselling.

Bereaved families affected by suicide should be told about our service by the police family liaison officers in the first instance. If people are happy to receive our help, the police will contact our service directly and we’ll arrange to see you as soon as it’s convenient.

Anyone bereaved in this way can also contact us directly if they want to. You can contact us by calling our National Supportline Service on 08 08 16 89 111 or requesting support online.

If English is not your first language and you would like some support, call our Supportline and let us know which language you speak, and we will call you back with an interpreter as soon as possible. You can contact us for more information via our dedicated email: bbs.support@victimsupport.org.uk

We hope that you will get in touch with us, but if you decide not to now, you can call us at any point in the future.

Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors
The Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors provides support for people coping with the shock, excruciating grief and complex emotions that accompany the loss of a loved one to suicide.

Facing the Future
The Facing the Future service has been developed by Samaritans and Cruse Bereavement Care to help support people who have been bereaved by suicide. Facing the Future support groups will give you the opportunity to meet others who have lost someone to suicide and share your experiences and feelings. The nearest group is in London.

Samaritans
Samaritans provide emotional support to anyone who is struggling to cope and needs someone to listen.  Local branches can be visited during the day.

Support after Suicide Partnership
A website with details of organisations across the UK who offer support to people who have been bereaved or affected by suicide, and information about relevant resources. A guide  called Help is at Hand – Support after someone may have died by suicide which offers emotional support and practical help can be downloaded from this site.

SoBS (Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide)
SoBS offers support for those bereaved or affected by suicide. Their helpline and email support service are staffed by trained volunteers who have been bereaved by suicide. There are local support groups in Wokingham, Newbury and Henley-on-Thames.

Downloads

Bereaved by suicide service card 249 kB