Understanding Grief

The Holistic Nature of Grief

This information can help us feel less isolated and understand how grief expresses itself. Grief has the potential to impact every aspect of your being: mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Families and friends of those who are grieving can also benefit by gaining a deeper understanding of our lived experience. Below are examples of grief reactions—however, not every way of grieving is listed.

PHYSICAL

Hollowness in stomach, tightness in chest, heart palpitations, sensitivity to noise, breathlessness, weakness, tension, lack of energy, dry mouth, gastrointestinal disturbances, loss of libido, increase or loss of appetite, weight gain or loss, exhaustion, tight throat, vulnerability to illness, restlessness headaches, dizziness muscle aches, sexual dysfunction, insomnia, tremors, shakes

EMOTIONAL

Numbness, relief, emancipation, sadness, yearning, anxiety, fear, guilt and self-reproach, shame, loneliness, helplessness, hopelessness, abandonment, loss of control, emptiness, despair, ambivalence, loss of ability for pleasure, shock

COGNITIVE

Disbelief state of depersonalization, confusion, inability to concentrate, idealization of the deceased, preoccupation with thoughts or images of the deceased, dreams of the deceased, sense of presence of deceased; fleeting, tactile, olfactory, visual and auditory hallucinatory experiences, searching for meaning in life and death

BEHAVIORAL

Impaired work performance, crying, withdrawal, avoiding reminders of the deceased, seeking or carrying reminders of the deceased, over-reactivity, changed relationships