What is GRIEF?

Grief is something that very few people know about. Most people think of it as depression. There is a big difference between depression and grief. Depression is a mental illness whereas grief is not. Grief is something universal. It is a reaction or feeling upon loosing something, most probably a loved one. The state of loss is known as Bereavement and the reaction to that loss is called as Grief. The reaction is in the form of mental, physical as well as social.

Grief is a transitional state where one is adjusting him/herself to life after a loss. It is a state of distress when one person has gone out of life of another person who is emotionally attached to the one who has left him/her; that person then suffered emotionally due to loss of a loving relation. It could be death of someone, or breakup or divorce.

Grief could also be of other things like losing a job, but today we will talk about the most common grief, and that is losing a loved one, either by death or by break up or divorce.

Experiencing grief is normal and usually people feel it after a loss. During this state a person can feel sadness, anger, guilt, withdrawal, emptiness and/or anxiety. Grief is a journey from the distress of a loss to the acceptance of that loss and getting back to life normally. It is a process and it varies from person to person.

GRIEF PROCESS

During this process a person may not function well or will not be able to perform routine tasks in a good way. He or she behaves differently with people and may lost interest in activities which he/she use to enjoy. Overall well-being is affected when a person is grieving over a loss or loved one.

A person may have sleeping and eating issue or may fell sick while going through the process of grief. These things make it resemble with depression but it is a process and a grieving person will be fine when he/she will go through the stages of grief in their own way. For some people it could be a period of 6 months but for others, it may take years to complete this process of grief.

GRIEF AND DEPRESSION

For depression, people have to take psychotherapy sessions or medicines. But, for grieving, they do not necessarily need to have psychiatric medications or psychotherapy sessions. They may (or may not need) some counselling sessions.

Depression is a mental illness caused by the imbalance of chemicals present in the brain. These chemicals are known as Neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters convey messages in the brain. When the messenger will not be able to send the right message to the right place then there could be some misunderstanding. In case of depression, the misunderstanding is all the symptoms of depression. We have discussed about neurotransmitters and depression in our others blogs.

Although grief and depression have some overlapping symptoms and conditions like:

• Sadness
• Crying
• Sleep disturbances
• Diet issues
• Loss of interest
• Guilt
• Self-harm
• Fatigue

But they are two separate things. When they co-exist then symptoms are worst. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate between their symptoms, but only a trained qualified professional can do it.

The one thing which is different in both of these is that in depression, a person feels worthless, blames self and all the focus is on his/herself. On the other hand, during grief, all the focus is on the loss or at the situation.

COPING WITH GRIEF

If you know a family member or anyone going through grief process, support them in their crucial time.

• Let the person express their positive and negative feelings and thoughts
• Give them time
• Let them experience their feelings
• Do not say anything to make them feel guilt
• If they confide in someone else other than you, let them share their feelings with them
• Listen to them if they speak to you
• Do not discard their feelings
• Be empathetic
• Help with some routine tasks like laundry or grocery because they don’t even feel like moving out of bed sometimes
• Be there with them

It seems difficult when someone is grieving, they may become angry at you or do not open up to you. Be patient. Do not give up. If you cannot do anything, ask for help from a professional.

If you need help with someone who is going through the grief process, you can always come to PRC Rehabilitation center for counseling. Parvarish Recovery Center is basically an addiction rehab center but we also deal with other mental and emotional issues. For our full range of services feel free to call at 0341-1959599 or visit our treatment rehabilitation centers.