Title: How Grief Can Make You Sick | Everyday Health
Headings: How Grief Can Make You Sick
How Grief Can Make You Sick
Grief and Exhaustion
Difficulty Thinking Clearly
Sense of Being Alone
Depression and Substance Abuse
Heart Health and Immunity
Coping and Treatment
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Content: Depression and Substance Abuse
According to Mental Health America, a national advocacy group, prolonged grief can trigger anxiety attacks and depression. Research has found that about a quarter of people who lose their spouse experience clinical depression and anxiety in the first year. Bereavement has been associated with substance abuse, and research published in Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy specifically  found a greater risk of alcohol-related problems among bereaved men. Heart Health and Immunity
The emotional impact of grief is often described as “heartache” or “heartbreak,” but the release of stress hormones associated with grief can cause actual cardiac problems. “We know a fair amount about how stress affects the cardiovascular and immune systems, namely by activating both, and in vulnerable people this leads to increased rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer,” Shear says. “ Acute stress  can also cause something called stress cardiomyopathy, which is an acute form of cardiac illness.” One study found that the incidence of an acute heart attack increases 21-fold within 24 hours of the death  of a loved one, before declining steadily with each subsequent day. In another study, British researchers found that older people who are grieving are more likely to have weakened immune systems and develop infections. Coping and Treatment
While potential health consequences related to grieving are a serious concern, Shear stresses that grief itself should not be treated as an illness. “ Grief is the natural response to loss and when we lose someone we love, the loss is permanent and  impactful, and grief is also permanent,” she says. “