Sending you a welcome hug 
It is a tough journey we have many members here who are going through the same journey, some quite some time along the journey. Hope you find the forum a source of support Xx

 :hug:I think thats what people dont get - its not their fault -how could they until it happens to them - and thats the adjustments we have to make to every aspect of our life - and while we may appear to be acting normal - going through the motions of our everyday routines as they see them, they never see those moments when we make two cups of coffee on autpilot and then it hits us like a wrecking ball - or pick up the phone to tell them something and realise we cant -and of course we are happy for them when our friends are going off on their holiday together but at the same time sad because we will never do that again  - even later when maybe we go on holiday alone or with some-one else -there is that space by our side where the person we have lost should be.

so while grief and loss in itself  is a horrific and  major thing to deal with, everything else, every little aspect of our life also changes and thats why it is so all consuming and i think why so often we feel we are going backwards - you prpared yourself to get through those challenges that you can see coming up but then you stare into that extra mug, with its two sugars and suddenly feel you are back at the start of the journey.
Eventually you will look at it and think what an idiot,and maybe even laugh at youself and say to them in your mind -heres your coffee - or dont you be laughing at me being a nut job  - but there is a long way to go and often a lot of backward leaps before that time arrives.

  I lost my husband 7 years ago and also felt there was no point - in fact work in itself also felt pointless i wasnt exactly saving the world making adverts for software.and though i needed the money to survive -surviving still meant returning to an empty house and cooking for one (or rather microwaving ready meals and eating
junk because cooking required an effort i didnt think i was worth )
   
I had to move house too which made socialising even harder - our friends were centred around a camping club - and none of them lived nearby - i did keep going camping but it was a few weekends a year and left winters horribly empty.
 If i am honest i was never a great socialiser anyway and i still arnt - so firstly i think its important not to force yourself to be a person you are not because people say you "ought too" - having said that neither should we isolate ourselves completely.
Maybe the solution is something in between - my mum, when she became a widow joined classes -just stuff she was interested in like art -but doing that made socialising easier because she was in a group who were also wanting to learn to paint - and having that as a focus created social contact more easilly and she did gain friends from it  over time.
I did online courses as real world ones are not available to me - so again no real world contact - but it occupied some time there were discussions with felow students and even though they were people i would never meet it reduced that social isolation in a different way and kept my brain active - and eventually by putting several randomly picked -so i thought  - courses together i found a way in which the work skills i had been so down on before could transfer to something more useful outside work - so volunteering is another way that socialising can grow - others here have done this in the past and it has worked for them - whether thats direct like in a chrity shop or community centre or less direct which was how i started -  i cant go plonk myself in a pub and make small talk with random strangers - i cant even go into a cafe and eat alone -i dont have that confidence but there are other things i can do now that i never though in those early days i would - and actually i dont want to walk into a pub and if i am travelling i dont need to eat in a cafe there are plenty of other options - its a case of picking the destination you want to go too - not the ones others think you should and then finding ways to get round the dragons that might be standing in your way.

I still miss him every day -some days are worse than others, but i also think of my life as being his eyes on the world and so keep him moving forward with me, just in a different way.Initially going out was always tainted by coming back to the empty house and having no-one to share with - just like when you come home from work,so treating yourself - not in a massive way - but a film, a hot bath with bubbles, music, special bar of chocolate - special type of tea can help you get over the doorstep and if you have a garden or just an outdoor space and a plant pot maybe with some herbs in or one of his favourite plants if he had one -  that also creates some sancturary -  my routine now is go through the front door make a cup of tea then out the back door to drink it - that way when you go back in again the house feels more welcoming because you already got over the step.-

When my mum was ill she stayed with us and we put a load of bird feeders where she could watch them after she died we put them in a corner of the garden along with her favourite plants and a water feature - and i used to just go and sit there with a coffee in the morning  now its a new garden - and more loss - but i still recreated that space - its a memorial space to me but its also just a nice place to sit rather than just a place to mourn.
Writing this i,m thinking maybe it all sounds a bit self indulgent but i think showing yourself some kindness and understanding is the first step to building confidence and strength and finding ways in which your life is no longer pointless.

It doesnt feel like it i know, but it is still early days for you and finding this place became a lifeline for me - not only somewhere to write my feelings but also somewhere others on the same journey understood - no-one said "move on" or "pull yourself together" no -one had those expectations but still offered encouragement in other ways without criticism if i failed, and with re assurance that i wasnt going mad - because although we grieve in different ways -there is always something that makes you think you are going mad or doing it wrong somehow, but then some-one here says no -that happened to us too.
 
We also have the daily chat section - because as time goes on it isnt just the big things you miss - but the little things  that become important - how was your day - what can i do about this - whats this plant -what shall i cook for my tea - everyday chat is also important and for me not something that happens at work.

Thank you this post.  It’s kind of the reason I’m here on this forum.  On the surface I’m coping well with the loss of my husband 18 months ago (and my Mum 7 months before).  I have bought a new house, gone back to work and taken on more responsibility so to the outside world at least, I am doing well.  But when that front door shuts I feel so alone and lost without him.  I’ve tried joining clubs,  but it is not working.  I go once or twice and the. Just make excuses not to go. 

 My friends are our friends and whilst they are lovely and have been so suppor, I seem to feel Steve’s loss even more when with them.  Inevitably, conversations turn to their holiday plans, weekend plans and all the things that couples do and I tread that line of trying to be happy for them whilst feeling even lonelier.  Not a nice place to be.

In many ways it feels harder now than when I first lost him.  How does that work?

Thanks for listening.

Lainey

  I feel you pain, I lost my father too nearly 7 weeks ago also , total shock . All I keep thinking is what would he have wanted , and to not suffer is something many people do not get the privilege of . I talk to my dads photo every day and light a candle every evening . I hope you find a way to get some comfort from his sudden loss . Sending you massive hugs and hopefully you know you are not alone .