Complicated Grief when your pet dies

In complicated grief following the death of your much loved pet, you will feel only anger or guilt and have difficulty moving through other stages of the grief experience. Converted grief occurs where the person avoids the mourning process by activities like overeating, substance abuse and overworking. In chronic grief, the person focuses on their dead pet as if to keep it alive.

Negative consequences of uncompleted grieving are significant. You are likely to suffer low level constant depression.

• Multiple illnesses
• Chronic fatigue
• Irritability
• Decreased pleasure in work and life
• Concentration problems
• Sleeping and eating disorders
• Restlessness
• Insensitivity or indifference to others

The above all characterise incomplete or complicated grief.

This grief can result in you making elaborate arrangements to avoid any reminder of your dead pet. This may be that you are stuck in the denial phase. The most worrying consequence of unresolved grief coupled with depression, are thoughts of suicide. This is a very real problem and it is due to this that a Pet Bereavement Support Service has been set up (0800-0966606).