All of a sudden I felt there was nothing more to do. There is nothing. I'm so confused, so
lost...All of a sudden she passed away and I couldn't do anything more for her. The ambitious,
hopes, and inspirations I had before seemed no longer important to me...How am I going to live?
What am I going to hang on to? Is it necessary to grieve? Do sorrow and mental anguish serve
some useful function? What is the purpose of grief work?
Grief is the reaction to the loss of a person or thing to which we have become attached. It
is a natural and normal reaction that has a natural form and sequence. It is, at times, intensely
painful and frightening, and it may therefore be avoided, repressed, or distorted out if its natural
form. Grief is experienced in each of three major ways--psychologically (through your feelings,
thoughts, and attitudes), socially (through your behavior with others), and physically (through your
Psychiatric research indicates that attempts to deny or avoid grief are potentially harmful.
It is important for people who suffer a loss who are in a position to help to encourage the bereaved
to express their grief. This process of realization and the acceptance of the full implications of the
loss take time. "I can't believe it' true, it doesn't seem real."
Grief is a continuing development, involving many changes over time. It will come and go
and appear different times. Grief is a natural, expectable reaction. In fact, the absence of it is
abnormal in most cases. Grief is the reaction to all kinds Grief 2
of losses, not just death. Grief is multilayered, the pain is felt on many levels at once. For example,
when a loved one dies, the bereaved not only must feel the physical hurt of the broken heart and the
emotional pain of separation, but also must contend with the social deprivation of having to live
Because of the pain, grief is obscured to the extent that...