Information on Grief and Loss

For most people who have lost a close family member or friend, grief brings intense suffering. Many people experience that suffering as sadness and sorrow in every area of life. 

There are physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual aspects to grieving. Most people become aware that nothing will ever be the same as it was before the death of their loved one.

Grief is highly individualized. This means that each person responds to grief differently according to:

• How the family member or friend was lost
• The grieving person’s personality
• Social norms within the grieving person’s culture and family
• Other stressors in the grieving person’s life
• The grieving person’s history of coping with other losses