A natural reaction to loss is grief. It’s the mental anguish you experience when someone or something you love is taken away. The anguish of losing someone can often seem unbearable. You might feel a wide range of challenging and unanticipated feelings, such as astonishment, rage, disbelief, guilt, and intense sadness. Grief can also cause physical health problems, making it hard to eat, sleep, or even think clearly. These are common responses to bereavement; the greater the loss in importance, the greater the depth of your sadness. One of the most difficult things in life is learning to live with the death of someone or something you love. You might identify mourning with loss, the passing of a loved one. It is normal to grieve the loss you are experiencing if the person, animal, relationship, or situation was significant to you. Grieving can be triggered by even subtle losses in life, such as moving away from home, graduating from college, or changing jobs. Whatever your loss, it’s personal to you, so don’t feel ashamed about how you feel, or think that it’s only appropriate to grieve for certain things. Thankfully, there are healthy ways to cope with the pain that will eventually help you find new meaning in your life, let go of your sorrows, and move on.
