"Grief, I've learned, is really just love. It's all the love you want to give, but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go." - Jamie Anderson Grief is associated with feelings of sadness, yearning, guilt, regret, and anger, among others. Some people may experience a sense of meaninglessness, and others can feel a sense of relief. Emotions are often surprising in their strength or mildness, and they can also be confusing, such as when a person misses a painful relationship.
Thoughts during grief can vary from “there’s nothing I can do about it” to “it’s my fault, I could have done more” or from “she had a good life” to “it wasn’t her time.” They can be troubling or soothing, and people in grief can bounce between different thoughts as they make sense of their loss. Grieving behaviors run from crying to laughter, and from sharing feelings to engaging silently in activities like cleaning, writing, or exercising. Some people find comfort in the company of others, particularly with those who may be similarly affected by the loss, and others may prefer to be alone with their feelings. Everyone grieves in their own way and in their own time. Some people recover from grief and resume normal activities within six months, though they continue to feel moments of sadness. Others may feel better after about a year, while some individuals continue to grieve for years and years without seeming to improve or find relief even temporarily. There is truly no right or wrong way to grieve. Grief can be complicated by other conditions, most notably depression, or by the person’s level of dependency on the departed.
The term grief can be used for more than just the loss of a loved one. Many people feel grief or loss after changing jobs, graduating from college, or moving to a new city. The loss of a person's identity can contribute greatly to these feelings. Grief can feel incredibly lonely and isolating. While loss affects people in different ways, many individuals may feel like they are trapped in a bad dream that they can't wake up from.