In my experience, grief (the feelings one experiences internally when a loved one dies) becomes more tolerable to the bereaved, when they can share it with someone who understands. The external expression of that grief is what we call mourning.

Unfortunately, in our society, we discourage mourning by giving advice (which is rarely helpful) instead of being a good listener. We expect people to go back to normal shortly after the funeral. People who express their grief outwardly after much time has elapsed, are sometimes seen as not handling things well.

People mourn their losses differently and we must be respectful of this. It is so painful to realize that when someone you love dies, you will never see them again in your lifetime. We are left with only our memories. I don’t believe we ”get over” a death. Instead, we learn to live with the loss…eventually.