Grieving on my own at 17

Hi Sophieca welcome to the forum and I am so very sorry both for the loss of your beloved Grandad and also how you are feeling.

Grief is a strange thing, it affects us all differently and I get what you say about your parents and brother and guess that as you say they process things in different ways, but keeping that all in can be unhealthy sometimes as well. I also agree with you about letting your emotions out and it is a strength so don't forget that part. 

However, something need sot happen to enable you to move forward and to feel differently about things and time is the only thing that can make that happen. Maybe talking with someone  would help and Im wondering if you might like to give the Macmillan Line a call on 08088080000 and see if you can have a chat with them and maybe they have info re young peoples who have had the same thing happen for them as yourself that you could maybe chat with on a more regular basis.

Please pick up the phone they close at 8pm tonight but are open every day from 8am till 8pm.  Sending some hugs your way for now.x 

Hey Sophieca,

I'm really sorry for your loss. I lost my dad to cancer over a year ago at 17 too and have gone through the grieving process where everyone is different. to this day, it sometimes seems like everyone ignores it. I think you have to remember that everyone deals with it differently and sometimes ignoring it is the only way to function or carry on as normal if you like. as your family members are in the police, I suspect " ignoring" it is their coping mechanism as they are going to just want to function as "normal" as they can. sometimes it's almost easier to pretend it's not happened etc because it's so painful... almost as if you don't think about it, then you cant relive the pain. there is never any shame in letting it out - if anything it's better. That's your coping mechanism. you'll probably find that you change in how you react to it because that's normal. everyone brushes through the phases of grief... you may be sad and then feel nothing one minute... that's the thing with grief, everyone reacts differently and goes through different stages. you will grow with this, especially at your age. I think for coping/self-care, id suggest you figure out what works best - especially if you have studies just so that this can be kept separate and you're managing everything in your life healthily. maybe try therapy... maybe find a counselor you prefer too because not everyone likes their first etc... id say create a routine... eg yoga or walks to clear your mind daily.... find a podcast or maybe book... and journal... getting your thoughts out will take away some of this weight of stress you may feel.

I hope this helps,

liv