Title: The Ways We Grieve | Psychology Today
Headings: The Ways We Grieve
Ralph Ryback M.D.
The Ways We Grieve
From loss, to despair, to recovery, grief is an inevitable part of life.
Bereavement after death
Normal grief reactions
Grief is more than just sadness
Anticipatory vs. traumatic grief
Dealing with loss
Grief pangs: Yearning, disorganization, and despair
THE BASICS
Unresolved, complicated grief
Persistent complex bereavement disorder
Recovering from bereavement

Content: As many of us try to hold onto our memories of the person or even tangible objects that are intrinsically valuable to us in fear that we might forget someone who meant so much to us, the normal remembering of the deceased can even end up complicating matters and even causing us more harm. Dealing with loss
It was Bowlby (1969) who originally made his name by studying newborns and infants of parents who died in the Battle of Britain during World War II. These infants “failed to thrive” and later died despite receiving intensive nursing and medical care. Based on his work with infants, Bowlby recognized the importance of attachments with others and believed that the bereavement process is our natural response to broken attachment bonds. Part of the reason that our experience of grief is so painful is that we must learn how to let go of our attachments following a significant loss. Attachments or bonds that we form with significant people in our lives continue to exist even in the absence of that person. In our protest of separation from our bond with our loved one, we may have anxiety and difficulty comprehending the loss, an experience known as numbing, which can lead to feelings of shock, denial or disbelief, especially when the death occurs unexpectedly. article continues after advertisement
Grief pangs: Yearning, disorganization, and despair
We may have “debilitating recurrent pangs of painful emotions, with intense yearning, longing and searching for the deceased, and preoccupation with thoughts of the loved one,” said Mary-Frances O’Connor and her colleagues. Grief pangs, short temporary periods of very intense distress and yearning for the deceased, can spin us into an existential, emotional, relative emptiness.