When a loved one passes on, does immersing yourself in their pictures and various belongings help you better cope, or does facing such things of theirs more bother you?

When Mom passed, I liked looking at pics and items of hers. It helped and still does.

My best friend was killed in a car crash 7 years ago. After the funeral I couldnt bare to look at any of his pics. I had a whole photo album of pics of us from the time we were small to weeks before he died that I threw out. I sat it on top of the trash cans to be collected on garbage day but that morning the garbage truck was late and my mom came and visited. She saw the photo album in the trash as she came in and grabbed it before it could be collected and gave me a calm lecture about it. She hid it in my basement and a year later I found it, thumbed thru it and was glad it was saved.

At worst I can't stand to look at those pictures for a few months. After the initial grieving stage, though, seeing them will make me feel better.