Grief reactions

How grief manifests differs. Some have strong visible reactions, while others have less strong or visible reactions. People also have different needs in their grief.

Grief can manifest as for example emotional, physical, social, mental or other reactions and it is often a mixture of all these. For many it can be surprising that grief for example often leads to exhaustion or poor sleep or other reactions that aren’t emotional. Below are some examples of what reactions you might experience linked to grief.

Emotional reactions:

Anger
Guilt
Loneliness
Bewilderment
Other related feelings

Physical reactions:

Exhaustion
Headache
Stomach ache
Difficulty sleeping
Changes in appetite
Other physical reactions

Social reactions:

Less energy for social activities
Feeling different
Feeling like others don’t understand you
Greater need for support
And other reactions

Mental reactions:

Difficulty remembering
Difficulty concentration
Thoughts about death
Difficulty really understanding the death
Worry about the future
And other reactions

These reactions are not present all the time. Most people alternate between grieving and being happy and looking more to the future. Being happy or taking a break from the grief can lead to feelings of guilt for some, but it is a natural and necessary part of grieving, amongst other reasons because it contributes to learning how to live with the grief.