Bereavement Support

Urgent help in Australia

10 practical ways to cope with grief

You can’t make grief disappear, but small, practical actions can make the pain more bearable and help you get through the next hour, day, and week.

1. Express your feelings. Talk to someone you trust, write privately, or use a journal if talking feels hard.
2. Aim for “minimum care.” Water, small meals, basic hygiene, rest — even if everything feels heavy.
3. Accept help with admin. Ask someone to sit with you while you make calls, fill out forms, or sort paperwork.
4. Join a support group. Listening can help even if you don’t want to share yet.
5. Keep a gentle routine. A short walk, regular meals, and a simple bedtime can reduce overwhelm.
6. Let grief come in waves. Some moments will be OK. Some will be brutal. Both can be true in the same day.
7. Be careful with alcohol and drugs. Temporary relief can turn into deeper anxiety, sleep problems, and harder grief later.
8. Choose “small connection.” A text message, sitting with someone, or a short visit can be enough.
9. Create a token of remembrance. A photo, keepsake, memory box, candle ritual, or letter can help love stay present.
10. Ask for professional support early. You don’t need to “wait until it’s worse” to speak to a counsellor or helpline.

When to get bereavement support

Grief is unpredictable and unique. Consider professional support if grief feels overwhelming or stops you from functioning day-to-day.

• Finding it extremely hard to get out of bed for days at a time
• Feeling unsafe, hopeless, or like you can’t keep going
• Neglecting yourself, your children, or people who depend on you
• Withdrawing completely and feeling stuck or numb for weeks
• Using alcohol or drugs more often to cope
• Intense guilt, panic, or intrusive memories that don’t ease
• Ongoing sleep problems that are affecting daily life
• Not being able to do everyday tasks (work, meals, errands) for an extended period

These signs can be common early in bereavement. If they persist for weeks or months, bereavement counselling, therapy, or peer support can help — and support can still be beneficial even years after a loss.

Grief vs depression

Grief and clinical depression can look similar: low mood, exhaustion, withdrawal, changes in sleep, and difficulty concentrating.

Grief often comes in waves and can be triggered by dates, places, music, or memories. Depression can feel more constant and unchanging. If you feel persistently hopeless, numb, or unsafe, seek support urgently (see the urgent section above) or speak to your GP.

Understanding the grieving process

There are many theories about grief. None are rules. They are frameworks that can help explain common patterns in how grief affects thoughts, emotions, and daily life.

Common approaches include the dual process model (moving between loss-focused and life-focused coping), Worden’s tasks of grieving, meaning-making (rebuilding meaning after loss), and the five stages of grief.

Coping with grief after a death related to alcohol or drugs (Australia)

Losing someone to alcohol or other drugs is devastating. Alongside shock and sadness, you may be dealing with unanswered questions, stigma, complicated emotions, and sometimes an investigation by police and/or a coroner (especially after an unexpected death).

Australia organisations & helplines

You may also find these Australia pages useful: What to do after a death • Planning a funeral • Legal • Government services