One of the things I found after Tim died was how friendship groups shift. While I was so very fortunate that I didn’t lose friends (though I know that some people sadly do), I did find that my people changed. And that included unexpected people reaching out, stepping up. Being the people that I really needed.
 
I’ve newly come across the concept of firefighters and builders. Sometimes these can be the same people, but often they are different, and this has helped me understand.
 
Firefighters are the people who are there immediately. They drop everything and are there in the moment of catastrophe, doing the things that need to be done, holding you together in that raw grief and pain. They may stay longer or they may drift back into the background after the worst of the crisis is over.
 
Builders come into their own as you reconstruct your life. They are there in the dark times, and support you as you start to understand the new normal, survive the grief attacks and even begin to move forward. The builders might be there at the beginning of your grief journey, come along later, or be there throughout.

As a friend pointed out after reading this post - there are also the decorators who tidy us up and make our lives more beautiful. 
 
We need both of them. And we can be both of them as we help people who have been where we are (but remember to look after yourself too).

After Tim died, I heard the phrase ‘the new normal’ a lot. That I would find my ‘new normal’. That people settled into their ‘new normal’. That the ‘new normal’ kicks in after six months when you realise that it’s all real, or in the second year when all the firsts are over. But what is the new normal?
 
I think it’s about understanding the changes that we have gone through, accepting what has happened, and looking at how we move forward. This is about how it’s happened for me. It’s not the same for everyone, and for people in the darkest days of grief, the thought of a new normal may be too hard.
 
The new normal: Physical and psychological
The trauma of being bereaved, whether it’s suddenly or after a short or long illness, changes us physically and psychologically. Physical symptoms include headaches, chest pain, muscle and joint aches, sleep issues and immune system issues. Psychological changes include brain fog, flashbacks, panic attacks, dissociation and hyperarousal. Trauma also increases the risk of self-harm and suicidal feelings, and of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia and chronic pain, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME).
 
These changes don’t always last forever – for me, the physical symptoms eased after six months or a year, and the worst of the psychological symptoms after a year or two. It’s important that we look after ourselves, and this isn’t about fluffiness and bubble baths. It’s about genuinely being kind to ourselves, and about taking proper care of our mental and physical health.
 
The new normal: Acceptance
The new normal can be about acceptance, and this was significant for me. I accepted that this was my life now. That things were never going to be the same again.
 
For a while it was just about keeping going, and putting one foot in front of the other. The next phase was reclaiming a space and a life for myself – I cleared and redecorated, I went back to university, I started The Widow’s Handbook.
 
I accepted that grieving was a long-term thing. That I wasn’t going to ‘get over it’, or ‘move on’. That it was something that I was going to walk alongside. I also gave myself permission to feel happy again.
 
The new normal: Moving forward
Ever since I saw this brilliant TED talk from Nora McInerny, I have talked about ‘moving forward’ not ‘moving on’, because I have taken Tim with me into my new life. While it’s not the life I expected or planned for, it’s the life I have and it’s a life I like.