Grief is something that no one should have to endure, but unfortunately, it’s something all of us encounter. What you may not know is that grief impact you both mentally and physically. So, what can you expect during grief, and how can you help yourself cope while you move through the grieving process?

About Grief

The APA dictionary defines grief as: “the anguish experienced after significant loss, usually the death of a beloved person.” You can face grief for a number of different reasons. It could be the passing of a loved one or someone close to you, a pet, or mourning the loss of something that changed in your life, such as the loss of a relationship when you’re going through a divorce.

You may be familiar with the stages of grief. The stages of grief are common stages that a person will experience during the grieving process. Most commonly, these include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. That said, everyone experiences and expresses grief differently.

Physical And Mental Health Symptoms Of Grief

It makes sense that your physical body would react as well as your mind in response to grief. Grief is a major stressor, and the mind and body interact with one another more than one might expect. Here are some common symptoms people face while grieving:

  • Fatigue or loss of energy
  • Changes in appetite
  • Body aches and pain
  • Feelings of depression
  • Feelings of nervousness or anxiety
  • Emotional numbness
  • Trouble sleeping or sleeping more than usual
  • Difficulty concentrating or focusing
  • Gastrointestinal distress
  • Increased irritability
  • Anger

Grief can also lower your immunity and make you more susceptible to getting sick. If you don’t feel your best during grief, it’s normal. With that in mind, what can you do to care for yourself during grief?

Caring For Yourself While Grieving

There are things you can do to aid yourself in moving through the grieving process. It’s not about pushing grief away; in fact, it’s deeply important to feel your feelings and allow yourself to grieve. Ways to support yourself may include but are not limited to taking care of your physical body by ensuring that you’re sleeping, moving, eating in a way that supports your nutritional needs, as well as caring for your mental health by allowing yourself to acknowledge your emotions, continuing with routines in daily life as much as possible, and ensuring that you have support. Support may come from those within your inner circle, a support group, a mental health provider such as a therapist, or all three.

Talking to a therapist can be a serious game-changer when it comes to moving through and processing grief. Again, it’s not about making it go away; it’s about caring for your mental and physical well-being and making sure that you’re not alone during a tough time.

Therapy allows you to speak to an objective third party and talk about anything that’s on your mind. Sometimes, grief comes with guilt, shame, and other feelings that can be hard to express to the people in your daily life, and a mental health professional can help.

The power of therapy during the grieving process cannot be undermined across the board, but it may be especially crucial if you face grief for an extended period of time or if it impacts your functioning on an ongoing basis.

If you experience grief over an extensive period of time, or if your symptoms are severe, it is vital to reach out to a medical or mental health provider. You may be facing complicated grief or prolonged grief disorder. There’s no right or wrong way to grieve or react to loss, and reaching out matters.

Find A Therapist

Grief is only one reason someone may choose to see a therapist. To find a therapist or counselor, you can ask your doctor for a referral, search the web, contact your insurance company to see what they cover, or sign up for a reputable online therapy platform with licensed providers.

You can ask your doctor for a referral, contact your insurance company to see who they cover, search the web, or sign up for a reputable online therapy platform like BetterHelp.

Online therapy is often more affordable than traditional in-person services are without insurance, and it allows you to get support from the privacy of your own home or anywhere else with a reliable internet connection. Regardless of how you find a provider, you deserve to find the support you need, so don’t hesitate to take the first step today.

Guest author

Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health-related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com.

With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.