Knowing When You’re Grieving
When we experience grief, our bodies sometimes hide the fact that we are grieving, and we may not even know that is what we are feeling. When you learn to recognize the symptoms of grief, you’re on your way to acknowledging and dealing with them. Best of all, you’re on the way to recovering from your grief.
You may have been suffering from masked grief if, in the past month or so, you’ve:
- lost interest in food
- lost or gained a substantial amount of weight
- felt out of control
- felt more tired than usual
- had trouble concentrating
- had a series of minor injuries
- felt irritable or edgy
- found yourself thinking about suicide
- had trouble sleeping
- begun drinking more or taking drugs to handle stress
- felt sad but didn’t know why
- gotten angry easily
- lost interest in sex
- cried at surprising times
- felt unusually fearful
- been more forgetful than usual
- felt clumsy
- felt unusually isolated or that you have no one to talk to
- had trouble getting things done
- felt like you were falling apart
If you’ve experienced one to five of the above items, you’re probably feeling the effects of stress of some type in your life. If six to twenty of the above items are true statements, you’ve more than likely experienced a loss of some kind and have begun the grieving process. If questions 1, 3, 8, 10 or 20 are areas of concern, it’s likely you will need professional counseling.
It may comfort you to know that the three major stages of grief and loss are: initial shock and denial, anger or depression, and acceptance. As time goes on, you will move toward acceptance and new stages of your life. If you’ve been stuck in one stage for what seems like a long time, talk to a counselor, trusted friend, or spiritual adviser.
