Discover the causes, symptoms, and treatment of this condition
Grief is universal, yet everyone experiences it in different ways. It's also a largely misunderstood aspect of life. What's certain is that, at one point or another, we must all go through it.
But there are many forms of grief, and understanding the differences is key to being able to move through the process in a healthy way. One of the healthiest ways to deal with grief is by acknowledging it in the first place. Opting not to deal with it can have a long-term, negative impact on your life.
So, what are the different types of grief? Click through to discover.
Anytime you suffer a loss, grief in itself is normal. Experts say that normal grief lasts six months to two years following the significant loss.
One can experience a huge range of emotions during the grieving process. Some of these may be physical reactions, while others may be behavioral, emotional, or social.
Absent grief is when there's a complete lack of grief in response to a loss. Denial and shock are often the culprits, and it's more common when the loss is sudden.
And while absent grief can be normal, it should be addressed if it continues for an extended period of time.
Anticipatory grief occurs if you’re expecting the loss of someone close to you in the near future. This includes things like the diagnosis of a terminal illness, anticipated layoffs, or impending divorce.
When experiencing anticipatory grief, you may start envisioning your life without that person. This can be challenging, but for some it's also a way to prepare for the grieving process after they experience the loss.
Complicated grief occurs when your grieving process doesn't move all the way through the steps of grief. It's often prolonged and more intense.
You might also feel more depressed and have increased anxiety. This type of grief typically requires help from a mental health professional.
Chronic grief is present when extremely intense reactions to loss remain for months or even years. This differs from normal grief in that the feelings don't come and go.
With chronic grief, the griever has an incredibly difficult time dealing with their grief or overcoming it.
Delayed grief can happen when you're experiencing strong feelings of sorrow and longing even if the loss occurred a long time ago. It essentially means that your emotional reaction didn’t happen at the time of the event.
This type of grief might be due to disassociation, which is common when things feel too painful. To cope, the mind blocks many of the emotions and feelings associated, until you're ready to deal with it.
This type of grief builds up over time and is marked by a number of losses that occurred in a relatively short period of time.
Also known as grief overload or bereavement overload, it can be one of the hardest forms of grief to recover from. But with therapy and guidance, you can move through it.
This type of grief is characterized by a very intense or extreme reaction to a loss. There's usually a noticeable change in behavior, and self-destruction is also common.
Anger and lashing out, both towards yourself and others, is one of the most common symptoms of this type of grief.
Grief can be disenfranchised whenever you feel like your grief hasn't been validated by others. This can happen when people don't recognize your loss.
Examples of disenfranchised grief include secret relationships, the loss of pets, or where the loss is seen as small by others.
Masked grief can occur as physical symptoms or behaviors that tend to impair or hinder normal functioning in life.
However, most of the time you won't recognize these symptoms or behaviors as being the result of a loss.
This type of grief reaction happens when someone doesn't show any type of outward grief. They often remain busy, which means they don't effectively move through the stages of grief.
If this continues for a long time, the individual might develop physical manifestations of their grief. This can be stomach issues, poor sleep, and muscle and body aches.
Collective grief happens when a tragedy affects an entire community or large group. It’s common during wars and after major natural disasters.
Collective grief can also occur after the death of a beloved public figure, a terrorist attack, or when a national tragedy occurs.
Abbreviated grief happens when the person who passes away is replaced after a short time with someone or something new in your life.
This is usually the result of being able to quickly accept the original loss. Or they may already have made peace with their loss prior to it happening.
Exaggerated grief presents more intense types of reactions than in any other type of grief. When it’s exaggerated, your emotions and actions may become more noticeable and disruptive.
With this type of grief, one might experience nightmares, thoughts of suicide or self-harm, and substance abuse issues. Additionally, sometimes exaggerated grief can result in the development of a psychiatric disorder.
Traumatic grief is common when trying to process grief when there’s added trauma that comes from an unexpected loss or violent death. It can result in an impairment of your daily functioning in life.
This type of grief is often accompanied by survivor's guilt. It's important to seek a therapist if you're experiencing traumatic grief.
Secondary loss grief can occur when a loss affects several areas of your life.
It can also be that you actually experience a number of losses, all stemming from the original loss you experienced.
Sources: (Talkspace) (BetterUp)
See also: Strange things grief does to your body
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Grief is universal, yet everyone experiences it in different ways. It's also a largely misunderstood aspect of life. What's certain is that, at one point or another, we must all go through it.
But there are many forms of grief, and understanding the differences is key to being able to move through the process in a healthy way. One of the healthiest ways to deal with grief is by acknowledging it in the first place. Opting not to deal with it can have a long-term, negative impact on your life.
So, what are the different types of grief? Click through to discover.