My [18F] cousin [20M] just died unexpectedly

Hey sweetie, I'm so sorry for your loss.

My dad died unexpectedly last month. I feel like this week is the first time I've been able to lift my head out from the fog. I knew people were around, I was busy with funeral and estate meetings, but I was just existing. It's only been in the last few days that I've started to think about all the people who messaged and texted me that I hadn't heard from in years.

That being said, yes, be around your family now. But death is funny. Everything I do takes three times more energy. So being around people (and I'm an extrovert) is exhausting. Reach out in a couple of months, be a support after the new normal starts to set in.

As for you... Gah, dealing with death at that distance is difficult. I was about your age when a girl from my small church died in a car accident. It shakes you, because you feel like you're close enough to grieve but don't want your grief to over shadow the immediate connections, but you still FEEL. Take care of yourself. Are you a writer? Journal. I've been painting a lot recently, putting focus and emotions onto canvas. Talk to someone - your mom, a grief counselor, heck, sometimes people come out of the woodwork who have gone through similar situations. Sleep, exercise, drink tea. Take care of your body, let yourself grieve and ask questions. Go find a back road and sit in your car and scream. Let yourself have permission to do what you need.

And if you have a decent relationship with your parents, go give them a hug. They're probably feeling guilty for being so grateful it wasn't you.

Love to you.

/r/relationships Thread