Grief

• Complications of Grief

  Complications that can develop from grieving include depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and physical illness. If you or someone you know experiences any of the following problems, contact a doctor or mental health professional for counseling, medicine, or both. Depression Depression is...

• Grief: Coping After Stillbirth

  Let others, including your health care team, support you so you can grieve in your own way, when you're ready.

• Dealing With Anxiety After a Loss

  Worry and anxiety can develop after a major loss. Anxiety is a general feeling of tenseness or uneasiness. You may feel generally anxious (called free-floating anxiety). Anxiety can cause physical symptoms, such as an upset stomach or a headache. Anxiety can also cause you to act in ways that are unusual for you, such...

• Dealing With Guilt After a Loss

  It is common to feel some kind of guilt or regret after losing a loved one, an opportunity, or a valued way of life. If you find yourself feeling guilty about a past action or inaction, set aside time to think about your feelings and work through...

• Grief: Dealing With Feelings of Insecurity

  After a major loss, you may feel insecure and unsure about yourself. Maintaining relationships may be a struggle at this time. You may have a difficult time making decisions, paying attention to what others are saying, or taking care of your personal responsibilities. Later, you may not remember some of the events...

• Handling Sadness and Yearning After a Major Loss

  Sadness and yearning for a loved one, an object, or a way of life you have lost are the most common and expected feelings that occur after any loss. Probably the best thing you can do to cope with your sadness and yearning is to talk about how you...

• Grief Counseling

  Grief counseling is short term and focuses on working through the grieving process related to a major loss. Grief counseling is also called bereavement counseling. The term "bereavement" usually is used only when referring to the loss of a person through death. Grief counseling typically has four components...

• Grief: Losing a Loved One

  The loss of someone special translates into many separate losses in a person's life. Multiple losses occur when a person loses: A partner. Loss of a partner usually also means the loss of a constant companion. Loss of a partner can also cause financial hardship, and sometimes a loss of standing or...

• Unresolved Grief

  There is no definite point in time or a list of symptoms that define unresolved grief. Unresolved grief lasts longer than usual for a person's social circle or cultural background. It may also be used to describe grief that does not go away or...

• Grief: Helping Children Understand

  Emotional development Consider your child's age and emotional development so that you can explain loss and death in a way that he or she will understand. Children younger than 2 years of age cannot express in words what is going on in their lives. You can reassure the child by holding and cuddling him...

• Grief: Helping Teens With Grief

  Know what is normal for your teen's age group. As teens grow and develop, they change the way they think about and express grief. Although each teen is different, there are some expected changes in thinking that occur during the early, middle, and late teenage years. Listen and watch for opportunities. If you listen...

• Grief: When Major Loss Challenges Your Beliefs

  A major loss can make you question your beliefs. Sadness, anger, guilt, hopelessness—all these emotions can make you question everything you once believed about life, death, and suffering. Some people are able to find comfort, courage, and hope from their beliefs. But if you're like a lot of people, you just feel...

• Grief: Coping With Grief

  Grief is a normal and healthy reaction that occurs when you lose someone or something important. Although it is possible to delay or postpone grieving, it is not possible to avoid grieving altogether. Grief will subside over time. However, the grieving process does not happen in a step-by-step or orderly fashion. Give...

• Grief: Helping Children With Grief

  Children see loss and death in different ways as they grow and develop. Tailor your help according to your child's age and emotional development. How you learned to deal with loss will affect how you help your child. Think about what helped you when you lost something as a child. Don't try to keep grieving a private...

• Grief: Helping Older Adults With Grief

  Older adults often have many major losses within a short period of time. For example, an older adult who loses a partner may suffer many losses, including financial security, his or her best friend, and social contacts. The natural aging process brings many losses, such as loss of independence and physical strength...

• Grief and Grieving

  What is grief? Grief is a natural response to the loss of someone or something very important to you. The loss may cause sadness and may cause you to think of very little else besides the loss. The words sorrow and heartache are often used to describe feelings of grief. Anticipatory grief is grief that strikes in...

• Grief, Bereavement, and Coping With Loss (PDQ®): Supportive care - Patient Information [NCI]

  People cope with the loss of a loved one in different ways. Most people who experience grief will cope well. Others will have severe grief and may need treatment. There are many things that can affect the grief process of someone who has lost a loved one to cancer. They include: The personality of the person who is...