Grief can be succinctly defined as "the normal reaction to loss."
Another slightly longer definition includes:
"The normal process of reacting both internally and externally to the perception of loss."
Expanded Definition
Grief has also been considered to be "the psychological, behavioral, social and physical reactions to loss of something or someone that is closely tied to a person's identity."
A more complete definition is one given by Stroeb M, Stroeb W and Shut H that describes grief as "a multifaceted response to loss that includes psychological, behavioral and physical reactions combined with cognitive, emotional, behavioral, social, spiritual and somatic elements."
Descriptive Definition
One of the best descriptions of grief comes from Stephanie Ericsson. Her poignant words help anyone unfamiliar with the roller coaster ride that is grief to better understand the intensity of feelings often experienced as a result.
- Grief is a tidal wave that over takes you,
smashes down upon you with unimaginable force,
sweeps you up into its darkness,
where you tumble and crash against unidentifiable surfaces,
only to be thrown out on an unknown beach, bruised, reshaped...
Grief will make a new person out of you,
if it doesn't kill you in the making.
Interchangeable Terms
Other terms often interchangeably used with grief are bereavement and mourning, however they are not the same.
Bereavement is an objective state of having lost someone or something. The term is generally used to describe the state of having suffered a loss due to death. It is the also considered to be the loss (by death) of someone important to you and the process caused by a loss or a death.
Mourning is the process by which people adapt to loss the public expression of grief, which is shaped by social and cultural expectations. It is how an individual attempts to incorporate the loss into life and keep living. It is also the behavior expected by those in the cultural group following a death or loss. Mourning is often considered to be the outward expression of grief that is influenced by a person's culture, customs and gender.
______________________________
The next section looks at the Acute Grief Response.
© 2006 Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT. Licensed for use to About.com.
______________________________
Sources:
Dyer KA. Identifying, Understanding, and Working with Grieving Parents in the NICU, Part I: Identifying and Understanding Loss and the Grief Response . Neonatal Network. May/June 2005; 24(4):35-46
Casarett D, Kutner JS, Abrahm J. Life after Death: A Practical Approach to Grief and Bereavement. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:208-215. 24 October, 2006. <http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/134/3/208.pdf>
Corr CA. Nabe CM. Corr DM. 2003. Death and Dying Life and Living. 4th Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Thomson Learning Publishing Co.
DeSpelder LA. Strickland AL. 2005. The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying. 7th Edition. New York, N.Y.: McGraw Hill.
Ericsson S. Companion Through The Darkness: Inner Dialogues on Grief. New York, N.Y.: Perennial Press, 1992.
Harvard Medical School Special Health Reports. 2003. Hirsch Michael. Editor. Coping with Grief and Loss: A guide to healing. Boston, MA: Harvard Health Publications.
National Cancer Institute. Loss, Grief, and Bereavement (PDQ) 2005. Health Professional Version. 15 October 2005. 24 October 2006. <http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/bereavement/HealthProfessional/page1>
Rando TA. 1993. Treatment of Complicated Mourning. Champaign, IL: Research Press, 22-3.
Stroeb M, Stroeb W, Shut H. Gender differences in adjustment to bereavement: an empirical and theoretical review. Rev Gen Psychol 5: 62-83.
Walter T. 1999. On Bereavement: The Culture of Grief. Buckingham, England: Open University Press, xv.
