Living with Loss and Grief

Loss and grief are a universal experience, and you can experience it for many reasons. Listed are some of the effects and affects you may experience as a result of your experiences.

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These feelings and thoughts will pass with time

Most people find the most effective way of working with feelings and thoughts of grief, loss and associated trauma are to share their experiences with someone they trust or to contact GriefLine, where our skilled, empathetic and trained volunteer counsellor can walk alongside you with your experience of grief or loss with counselling and support interventions. When experiencing loss and grief, you may experience the following:

Physical
Tiredness and fatigue, change in appetite, sleeplessness, crying, sighing

Emotional
Sadness, feelings of anxiety or panic, anger, heightened emotionality, guilt, regret

Social
Tendency to withdraw from friends and family, discomfort in social situations

Intellectual
Periods of confusion, aimlessness, lack of motivation, inability to concentrate, forgetfulness

Spiritual
Searching for meaning, re-examination of priorities, re-examination of religious/spiritual beliefs, ethical and philosophical, questioning

Some Experiences of grief, loss and/or trauma

And amongst many other responses as everyone’s experience of grief, loss and/or trauma is individual and these feelings, thoughts and physical sensations will pass with time. 

  • Confusion
  • Disbelief
  • Shock
  • Denial
  • Yearning 
  • Crying
  • Sobbing
  • Bargaining
  • Feeling Anxious
  • Depressive Feelings 
  • Resentment
  • Despair
  • Struggling to Adjust 
  • Fear of Losing Control
  • Panic
  • Loss of Interest
  • Relief 
  • Helplessness 
  • Idealisation 
  • Guilt 

Some people, may find speaking with a trusted friend will make a difference and will assist in working through these feelings, thoughts and sensations and others may find speaking to an organisation, such as GriefLine useful in working with a volunteer counsellor in relation to your experience of loss and grief.

Other people may find it useful in making an appointment with their GP and organising a mental health care plan and referring themselves to a Psychologist or a mental health Social Worker. Other people may find it useful to utilise self-help tools to work through their experience of grief, loss and/or associated trauma. See EAST Toolkit.