There’s no one way to tell your friends you’ve lost someone you love, so don’t pressure yourself into finding the perfect way.
The best thing you can do is to go into this conversation remembering that your friends are your support system. You’ve probably spent more than one afternoon joking around about nothing at all. They love you. It doesn’t mean the conversation won’t be awkward, but try thinking back on the moments you were there for them (even when you didn’t know what to say) and know that now it’s their turn.
You also have to remember to cut yourself some slack.
Here are some different alternatives:
Get all of your best friends together at once or appoint one friend to spread the news
Honestly, if you’re having this conversation with them you’re probably not in the mood to say it more than once. The days following someone passing away are always very hard, so the more you can take off your plate the better.
Set the tone for the kind of conversation you want to have
You don’t have to cushion the facts. If you’re comfortable enough saying the words out loud, right now isn’t the moment to worry about whether or not they can hear them. Here the most important thing is to set guidelines for the conversation, so that it’s on your terms and you’re not feeling pressured or add more stress to everything else you’re going through.
Say as much or as little as you want
If all you want to say is, “[insert name here] died. Just wanted to let you guys know.” Then that’s all you have to say. This is your conversation, you’re leading it, and shouldn’t feel forced into sharing anything you don’t want to share. On the flip side, you shouldn’t stop yourself if you do want to have a very detailed conversation with your friends. They are there for you, no matter what you want to say.
These are some tips that I found most useful when I was telling my friends. Think I missed something? Comment below!
