Title: Grief and Stress - Consumer Health News | HealthDay
Headings: Grief and Stress
Grief and Stress
Chris Woolston
No easy death
Grieving as illness
References

Content: Finding Daylight After Loss Shatters Your World. " When the bonds we have with others are disturbed, at some deep level we fear for our very survival...Our brain has stimulated us to take action, but since we cannot undo the loss, there is no action we can take. We are, therefore, held taut. This means that our bodies are under enormous stress." While most people gradually recover from profound grief, others become physically and emotionally overwhelmed. If depression and anxiety take root, health can take a dramatic -- perhaps even fatal -- downturn. We've all heard about lonely widows or widowers who die very soon after losing a spouse. Psychologists call the persistent, destructive grief that can follow an especially painful loss "complicated grief." Yale psychologist Holly Prigerson, PhD, has estimated that 15 percent of people who have lost a loved one -- or more than one in every 10 people -- reach this emotional low point. Complicated grief goes beyond normal anxiety and mourning.