Defining Grief

Grief is an individual’s reaction to loss. While grief looks different in everybody, it can be defined (American Psychologica Association) as the whirlwind of emotions one experiences when facing the loss of something significant in their life. Those experiencing grief may find themselves experiencing many differing symptoms, such as:

• Sadness or depression
• A desire to withdraw from loved ones and daily routines
• Changes to eating and sleeping habits
• Physical aches, such as a tight throat, aching chest, and fatigue
• Mood swings
• Denial or numbness

These are only a few of a multitude of emotional and physical symptoms a person experiencing grief may encounter. As we will continue to speak about throughout this course, grief is not a one size fits all reaction. Everybody will have their own ways of grieving.

Oftentimes, grief can be confused with mourning and bereavement. While these terms all have a lot in common, they do not mean the same thing. While grief is a person’s overall response to loss, mourning is defined as the outward expression of that response. Meanwhile, bereavement is the period after a person experiences loss in which they find themselves grieving and mourning.