Grief is a reaction to loss, and like a fingerprint, it is different for everyone. Many factors influence how you experience and express grief, including your relationship to the person who died, the circumstances of the death, and your culture and spirituality. Grief is not always about the death of someone you love. You may…
Grief is a reaction to loss, and like a fingerprint, it is different for everyone. Many factors influence how you experience and express grief, including your relationship to the person who died, the circumstances of the death, and your culture and spirituality. Grief is not always about the death of someone you love. You may…
Typically, grief is associated with a person’s death, but it can be caused by other losses, too. People also experience grief due to the death of an animal companion, or non-death loss, such as the loss of a valued relationship, possession, ability, or activity. Grief can also be experienced as a result of impending or mounting loss, also known as “anticipatory grief.”
Like adults, children and adolescents face losses and experience grief. Loved ones die — grandparents, parents, siblings, and friends. The death of a beloved pet is often a child’s first experience with death. Other losses that do not involve death, such as divorce, family relocation, or a friend moving away, also may generate grief. As…
Loss — especially the death of a loved one — is among life’s greatest stressors. It can affect you in physical, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, social, spiritual, and practical ways. Uncomfortable and sometimes complex feelings are natural responses to the death of a loved one. Everyone responds differently, but it is common to feel intense sadness,…
Grief does not have a predictable timeline or set of expectations. Nor does it come with a “script” that caring family members and friends can follow to comfort the bereaved. But there are steps you can take to provide compassionate support.
Although grief is painful and can feel disabling, most people who experience loss return to their pre-loss level of functioning, or even improved functioning, within several months. However, some people need additional support. Underlying medical conditions, your personal history and external support systems, the type of loss and variables in the relationship all play a…
Grief and loss can dramatically affect the workplace. Whether you are returning to work after a loss or supporting a bereaved coworker or employee, consider these helpful strategies and best practices. Returning to work after loss Bereavement-leave policies range from generous to inadequate, depending on the employer. Many employees feel they must return to work…
Researchers have studied grief and grieving for decades. Many of their findings can be helpful to people who are grieving or providing support to the bereaved. Below are brief summaries of some significant grief and loss research published in recent decades. Resilience after loss Dr. George Bonano The author of The Other Side of Sadness:…
“I thought the funeral would bring me some closure and I could move on.” Comments like this are often heard by grief counselors. Somehow, we are told, there is an action or event that can bring us some sort of closure, or release, from our grief. This event can be the funeral. Once we see…
“How do I tell my child?” This question frequently comes up whenever children face a death—whether it is the death of a parent, grandparent, other relative, or friend. Recent research has a reassuring message that reaffirms that children can be resilient, even in the face of loss. However, there are specific things that parents can…
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the well-known sex therapist and talk-show host known as simply Dr. Ruth, has embarked on a new crusade—combatting loneliness. It is a worthy challenge. The U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has called loneliness an epidemic and a public health crisis, raising awareness about the extensive risks that loneliness entails—comparing it to smoking…
We often use the word depression very lightly, as a synonym for sadness. We can be “depressed” that the day is cloudy or when we had a bad day at work. Yet depression is more than simply sadness; it is a psychiatric diagnosis that requires assessment and treatment. That distinction is a critical one when…
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