Sudden Unexpected Loss

For most of us there is time to prepare for death, both our own or for our loved ones. The best scenario is one where your loved ones have lived a long fulfilling life into old age and you have time to prepare emotionally for their coming loss. This is predictable

death from natural causes.

But the situation doesn’t always go that way. Many people die suddenly and unexpectedly. People have heart attacks and strokes every day, and they also die in car accidents. This can be the most difficult circumstance to deal with that there is. I don’t believe this is common but it does happen. This situation creates extreme disruptions in the lives of those grieving the loss. They had no time to prepare because their loved one wasn’t ill and didn’t even know anything was wrong. If their loved one had a pre-diagnosed condition they knew about, their loss could be expected. But in many cases there is no record of any medical condition and no warning. Sometimes there is just a sudden medical disruption where nothing could be done to save the person. I think the grief here is worse, the recovery more complicated, and the chaos in the life of those left behind is more severe.

Having that preparation time, those extra months or years with your loved one towards the end, is so important mentally and emotionally. With sudden death that isn’t there, and often the person who dies like this can be younger so didn’t get to live a full life. This means that their loved ones are left grieving the loss of the life they’d hoped to have with them, a life they now never will. In this case those grieving have to more totally rebuild their lives.

People die every day from all sorts of causes, from both natural old age diseases and causes to sudden unnatural medical disruption or accidents. The circumstances surrounding the death can and do make a difference in those grieving the loss.

Thanks for reading,

Sharon