Though you should reach out to others as you do the work of mourning, you should not feel obligated to accept the unhelpful responses you may receive from some people. You are the one who is grieving, and as such, you have certain “rights” no one should try to take away from you.

The following list is intended to empower you to heal and to determine how others can assist you, as well as how they cannot. This is not to discourage you from reaching out to others for help, but rather to assist you in distinguishing functional responses from hurtful ones. – Dr. Alan Wolfelt, at the Centerforloss.com