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ARTICLE: GRIEF COMES IN MANY COLORS

Grief is a term used to describe a wide range of emotional and physical reactions that arise when someone is living in anticipation of or has experienced the loss of something or someone significant.

Grief feelings may include:

anxiety
sadness
shock
anger
worry
helplessness
guilt

Physical reactions to grief may include:

stomach aches
loss of appetite
sleeplessness
headaches
fatigue
lack of concentration

Social, emotional, and behavioral changes in children may include:

Playing with friends less.
Yelling at others more.
Talking about the person that has died.
Clinging more to parents.
Blaming themselves for the death.
Experiencing nightmares.
Displaying attention seeking behavior.
Hurting themselves.
Having exaggerated responses to events.
Longing to see their loved one.

Some ways to support someone who is grieving are:

Giving them an opportunity to express their feelings.
Validating their feelings.
Reassuring them that their feelings are normal.
Giving honest and (age appropriate) explanations.
Sharing memories, stories and photos of the person who died.
Reminding them that it won’t always feel this raw or be this hard.
Reassuring them of those in their world who will continue to care for them (even if they are grieving too).
Reassuring them they are not alone.