Grief is our natural and normal response to loss.

 

It is "human" to grieve. From childhood on, we grieve over and over. Grief is triggered whenever we experience significant loss. The loss of a pet, a job, a relationship, a marriage, a community (e.g., moving) can and do cause us to grieve. Part of our being human is that we form relationships and attachments. When they come to an end, we grieve. It's what we do. In part, it is because we can love that we also can grieve.

 

Grief is individual.

 

The way you grieve will be your own way. How a death affects us depends on many variables: our age, our relationship to the person, our support, our personality, our beliefs, our family background, the nature of the death, whether we've had other recent losses or have unresolved past losses, etc. Individuals within the same family can have significantly different ways of grieving the death of a family member. We need to respect those differences and not presume to know that we understand how another is feeling.

 

Grief can affect the whole person..

 

Grief can affect our body, emotions, mind and spirit. Having stomach troubles and not being able to sleep (or only wanting to sleep) are among many of the physical reactions we may have. Disbelief... sorrow... guilt... relief... anger... are but a few of the emotions we may experience. Finding it difficult to concentrate or finish tasks, feeling down, lacking energy and motivation and questioning our faith are but some of the ways our minds and spirits may be affected. Remember, it is normal not to feel normal.