An informative article on complicated grief.

Grief often emerges in confusing ways.. I was triggered to do a search on this after watching a drama series where someone who had just gone through a loss was getting angry and pushing everyone away.. That had echoes for me. Sometimes the thing we need is a hug, to open up to the feelings and be supported to grief but often other’s ignorance of how we are reacting or even our own may prevent this happening..

The following is a very good article on complicated grief which often occurs when the grieving process gets aborted somehow or goes awry It also highlights some of the differences between grief, sadness and depression.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384440/

Some people conflate the terms grief and depression. They are not the same. Both infuse our lives with sadness, and both cause disruption, but the similarity ends there. Depression is a mental disorder. Grief is not. Bereaved people are sad because they miss a person they love, a person who added light and color and warmth to their world. They feel like the light has been turned off and they aren’t sure how to turn It on again. Depressed people are sad because they see themselves and/or the world as fundamentally flawed, Inadequate, or worthless. They feel like the world has no light or color or warmth. There is no light to turn on

Depression inhibits the capacity to experience positive emotions. Grief does not. Positive emotions occur as frequently as negative ones as early as a week after a loved one dies. Depression biases thinking in a negative direction. Grief does not. Depression interferes with the capacity to care about other people and to understand their good intentions. Grief turns a person inward, but the desire to be with others and appreciation for the efforts of others is preserved. Both depression and grief take one out of ongoing life, but the reason for withdrawal is very different. In the words of author and scientist Kay Redfield Jamison:

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