| Grief | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Mourning; grieving; bereavement[1] |
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| Specialty | Psychology  |
| Treatment | Pastoral care, mental health professionals, social workers, support groups[1] |
| Part of a series on |
| Emotions |
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Grief is the response to the loss of something deemed important, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, spiritual and philosophical dimensions. While the terms are often used interchangeably, bereavement refers to the state of loss, while grief is the reaction to that loss.
The grief associated with death is familiar to most people, but individuals grieve in connection with a variety of losses throughout their lives, such as unemployment, ill health or the end of a relationship.[2] Loss can be categorized as either physical or abstract;[3] physical loss is related to something that the individual can touch or measure, such as losing a spouse through death, while other types of loss are more abstract, possibly relating to aspects of a person's social interactions.[3]
- ^ a b "Grief: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia". medlineplus.gov. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ "Grief". Hospice Foundation of America. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
- ^ a b Rando, Therese A. (1991). How to go on living when someone you love dies. Random House Publishing. ISBN 978-0553352696.[page needed]