Title: Grief Psychology
Headings: Grief Psychology
Grief Psychology
Content: Grief is a natural phenomenon; it has never been classified as a medical condition, though there are certain kinds of complicated grief which may cause post-traumatic stress, exaggerated forms of grief, anxiety or depression. Some kinds of grief, often linked with the patients own previous experience of loss, do not resolve with time and need medical or psychological intervention. There may be some link between grief and a decline in physical health but it is very hard to assess. A decline in the immune system might indeed be due to the vulnerability of a person mentally or it may be due to a change in lifestyle or diet brought on by the death of a member of the family. It is worth assuming however that there may well be physiological effects as well as psychological after a close bereavement. Understanding grief in the context of human evolution is complex as it is usually a debilitating experience. It may, however, be understood as part of the emotional responses which are essential for us to maintain relationships, for example love. The emotional attachment of love, which has been so crucial to the evolution of the human race and its following development, continues on after the loved one is no longer there and becomes felt as grief. Grief is the cost we pay for being able to love.