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When grief doesn’t go away - CarerHelp Knowledge

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When grief doesn’t go away

As time passes following the death of the person you cared for, it’s normal for feelings of sadness, numbness, or anger to gradually ease. While the sadness of losing someone may never go away, over time it generally changes. There may be bad days still but there are days when you can see pleasure in activities and families and the future.

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While you are grieving it can be useful to talk to friends and family about your feelings. You may also think about joining a support group. Health services and carer organisations can suggest relevant groups.

For some people however, grief doesn’t change. It remains constant and severe. The following feelings may indicate that you need to talk to a health professional about how you are coping with your loss:

  • intense pain and yearning when you think of the person who died
  • heightened focus on reminders of your lost loved one
  • feelings of numbness in daily life
  • feelings of bitterness when you think about your loss
  • no sense of purpose or motivation
  • a loss of trust in friends, family, and acquaintances, and
  • an inability to enjoy life.

If grief is continuing to severely disrupt your life talk to your GP or to someone from your health care team.