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: Despite being highly distressful, grief pangs serve the purpose of recovering and reuniting with the person who has left us. When we realize that we will not be able to recover the one we love, we go through a period of disorganization, and despair, during which we attempt to find ways to cope with our irreparable loss. THE BASICS
Understanding Grief
Find a therapist to heal from grief
Along with our significant loss, we may also feel as if we have lost a part of ourselves, and, in some ways, we did. Both tangible and intangible psychological losses, such as losing our sense of safety after something traumatic happens to us or changes to our identity, can be highly distressful. Eventually, we must learn how to reorganize our sense of self and rediscover our unique place in the world without our loved one. Unresolved, complicated grief
Grief after someone we love dies can be overwhelming and even traumatic. Even though many people can successfully cope with and adapt to a loss, individuals who have lingering pathological or traumatic grief may need to seek professional services to overcome their emotional pain. article continues after advertisement
“Excessive and irrational grief” caused by mourning a loss was described by Freud (1917) as melancholy or depression. Whether the loss was actual or symbolic, he believed that unresolved feelings of guilt and other negative emotions stemming from the loss of someone we held dear could subsequently be directed inward toward oneself, which he called introjection. Bowlby (1980) later suggested that the neurophysiological processes that produce changes in our affect, behavior, and cognition can be prolonged or amplified in the face of complicated or unresolved grief.