Express your grief openly. By sharing your grief outside yourself, healing occurs. Ignoring your grief won't make it go away; talking about it often makes you feel better. Find caring friends and relatives who will listen without judging. Avoid people who are critical or who try to steal your grief from you. You have a right to express your grief; no one has the right to take it away. You are beginning a journey that is often frightening, painful, overwhelming and sometimes lonely.

If a friend has experienced the death of someone loved. How can you help? To begin with, you can be an active listener. Your physical presence and desire to listen without judging are your critical helping tools. Don't worry so much about what you will say. Just concentrate on listening to the words being shared with you.

You should strive to be compassionate. Give your friend permission to express his or her feelings without fear of criticism. Allow him or her to experience all the hurt, sorrow and pain that he or she is feeling at the time. Enter into your friend's feelings, but never try to take them away.