How does loss affect people

This may continue for days or weeks following the loss as friends and family bring food, send cards, or stop by to visit. Many times, people show their emotions during this time, like crying. But sometimes people can be so shocked or overwhelmed by the death that they don't show any emotion right away — even though the loss is very hard. People might smile and talk with others at a funeral as if nothing happened, but they're still sad. Being among other mourners can be a comfort, reminding us that some things will stay the same.

When the rituals end, some people might think they should be over their grief. But often the grief process is just beginning. People may go back to their normal activities but find it hard to put their heart into everyday things. Although they may not talk about their loss as much, the grieving process continues. If someone you know has died, it's natural to keep having feelings and questions for a while.

It's also natural to begin to feel a bit better. A lot depends on how a loss affects your life. It's OK to feel grief for days, weeks, or even longer. How intensely you feel grief can be related to things like whether the loss was sudden or expected, or how close you felt to the person who died.

Every person and situation is different. Feeling better usually happens gradually. At times, it might feel like you'll never recover.

The grieving process takes time, and grief can be more intense at some times than others. As time goes on, reminders of the person who has died can intensify feelings of grief. At other times, it might feel as if grief is in the background of your normal activities, and not on your mind all the time. As you do things you enjoy and spend time with people you feel good around, you can help yourself feel better.

Grief has its own pace. Every situation is different. How much grief you feel or how long it lasts isn't a measure of how important the person was to you. If you're grieving, it can help to express your feelings and get support, take care of yourself, and find meaning in the experience. Take a moment to notice how you've been feeling and reacting. Try to put it into words. Write about what you're feeling and the ways you're reacting to grief. Notice how it feels to think about and write about your experience.

Think of someone you can share your feelings with, someone who will listen and understand. Grief can cause physical sensations. These include tightness or heaviness in the chest or throat, nausea or an upset stomach, dizziness, headaches, physical numbness, muscle weakness or tension, and fatigue.

It may also make you vulnerable to illness. A person who is grieving may struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. He or she may also lose energy for enjoyable activities. The person may lose interest in eating or being social. A grieving person may also become more irritable or aggressive.

Other common behaviors include restlessness and excessive activity. Grief and loss may also cause a person to question his or her faith or view of the world. Each person experiences grief in a different way. Often, a person feels grief in waves or cycles. This means there are periods of intense and painful feelings that come and go. People may feel they are making progress with their grief when they are temporarily feeling less grief.

But then, after some time, they may face the grief again. Such changes in grief may occur around significant dates, such as holidays or birthdays. Over time, some people experience these grief cycles less frequently as they adjust to their loss. There are different theories about how a person adjusts to loss.

One widely accepted model describes 4 tasks of mourning:. The cause of death. For example, the grieving process may differ depending on whether the person died suddenly or was ill for a long time. The grieving process is often harder when the person has unresolved feelings towards or conflicts with the person who has died. If these feelings are affecting your life, there are things you can try that may help.

Support is also available if you're finding it hard to cope with stress, anxiety or depression. If you're not sure how you feel, try our mood self-assessment. Bereavement, grief and loss can cause many different symptoms and they affect people in different ways. There's no right or wrong way to feel. As well as bereavement, there are other types of loss such as the end of a relationship or losing a job or home. It's not always easy to recognise when bereavement, grief or loss are the reason you're acting or feeling differently.

Most people go through all these stages, but you will not necessarily move smoothly from one to the next. Your grief might feel chaotic and out of control, but these feelings will eventually become less intense over time.