Loss affects people in different ways

Posted: 11.24.2010 at 3:53 PM

It is not unusual to experience:

Disbelief:

Immediately after a death, it can be hard to accept what happened. Sometimes people try to deny it, feel numb or even shock, or expect to see their loved one even though they know the person is gone.

Guilt:

It’s normal to regret things you might have said or done, or failed to say or do.

Physical problems:

Grief can take its toll on your health, causing weight loss or gain, anxiety, less ability to fight off diseases, extreme fatigue.

Fear:

Death often causes people to face their own fears about dying, while others fear life without their loved one, or taking on new responsibilities.

Anger:

Some may feel angry at their loved one for having “deserted” them. Some many feel angry about the unfairness of the death. Others may feel the need to blame someone.

Grief “spasms”:

Many people have uneven emotions which seem to come and go. Some days feel “good” while the next day, or even the next minute, and seemingly “out of nowhere,” you feel intense sadness. This is normal, even though some people feel they must be “going crazy.”