A telephone box has appeared on Brighton seafront to give bereaved people a safe space to grieve.
The installation is in response to new research from national bereavement charity Sue Ryder which found fear of guilt and embarrassment causes emotions of grief to be downplayed or internalised.
The research also found that three quarters of bereaved people say that their emotions around grief make them feel guilty on a weekly basis.
Over two thirds of people have been scared or embarrassed to talk about their emotions whilst grieving.
Almost half of people believe their feelings towards grief are “messy and complicated”.
In response, Sue Ryder has launched a new campaign “To be Honest” to get people talking more frankly about their grief.
Between 10am and 5pm on Wednesday and 9am and 4pm on Thursday, people can enter the purpose-built telephone box situated by Brighton Beach Cafe, pick up the phone and say their true feelings about their grief without judgement, in a similar way to leaving a voicemail.
People will then be given an opportunity to have the message sent to them, so they can forward it onto their support network so they can let them know how they are really feeling.
Once inside, people can also listen to a message of support, including signposts to Sue Ryder’s free Online Bereavement Support.
Through its To Be Honest campaign, Sue Ryder aims to highlight that there’s no normal way to grieve.
Bianca Neumann, head of bereavement at Sue Ryder, said: “When someone close to you dies, you may feel deep emotional pain, shock, anger, deep sadness, guilt, numbness, anxiety, helplessness and many other emotions.
“There’s no right or normal way to grieve and integrating loss into our lives takes longer for some people than others.
“Learning to live alongside grief can take a long time, and during that time you will likely have ups and downs.
“Try to find people you can be honest with about how you’re feeling, and who respond in ways that you find helpful.
"Remember that it’s OK to feel however you are feeling and you shouldn’t punish yourself if you feel that your emotions aren’t the “common” feelings that we see so much of in the media.”
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