There’s no right or wrong way to grieve, and everyone will experience grief differently. Often, we feel like the grief will never end or like there’s something we could be doing to make it better. While there certainly are steps you can take to improve the grief process, like bereavement care, the way to get over grief is to get through grief. It sounds cliché’, but it’s true. There are so many factors that can affect how a person will grieve that it’s foolish to think there’s a standardized or ideal way to grieve.

That being said, knowing what to expect when grieving a loved one can be helpful. This will help you understand your emotions and feel more comfortable expressing them. Below are a few commonly felt emotions people going through grief may experience. Again, just because you don’t experience any of these emotions or experience emotions not listed doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.

Emotions you might feel:

• Shock
• Sudden sadness or hopelessness
• Anxiety about life without your loved one
• Guilt or anger about things that were said and done, or things that weren’t said and done
• Relief that their suffering is finally over
• Not accepting their death

Other, sometimes physical, symptoms of grief:

• A heavy chest
• No appetite
• Mood swings
• A tight throat
• Frequent forgetfulness
• Extreme fatigue
• Not being able to sleep
• Difficulty focusing

It's also not uncommon to act out of character in the following ways:

• Unexpected crying
• Strange cravings
• Undereating or overeating
• Purposeless wandering
• Taking on behaviors and characteristics of your loved one
• Fits of anger
• Frequently talking about your loved one