Funerals are meant to be sacred spaces, moments where we gather to honour a life, mourn a loss, and support those left behind. Over time funerals have also become emotionally charged spaces where unresolved family tensions, old wounds, and even long-standing conflicts suddenly surface. Sometimes it’s the speeches that reopen painful memories… sometimes it’s relatives who haven’t spoken in years forced into the same room… and other times, grief itself brings emotions to the surface that people didn’t even realise they were carrying. We are in conversation with Neo Mabiletsa who is a Grief And Loss Counselor and ask whether funerals have become spaces where people unknowingly express unresolved trauma? And more importantly:  how do you protect your own emotional wellbeing while grieving? How do you set boundaries during a time when expectations from family and community can feel overwhelming? And whether it is okay to step away from certain conversations, certain people, or even certain roles during the mourning process?