Typical Responses During Grief

Courtesy of Hospice Care of Nebraska

Physical Sensations:

• Tightness in chest
• Over-sensitivity to noise
• Dryness of mouth
• Breathlessness
• Weakness of muscles
• Lack of energy
  

Behaviors:

• Absent-mindedness
• Social withdrawal
• Sleep disturbances
• Restlessness/over-activity
• Appetite disturbances
• Crying, sighing
• Visiting places that are reminders of the deceased
• Calling out for the deceased

Thoughts:

• Disbelief
• Confusion
• Preoccupation with thoughts and memories
• Sense of his/her presence

Feelings:

• Sadness
• Anger
• Guilt or self-reproach
• Anxiety
• Loneliness
• Numbness
• Fatigue
• Helplessness
• Shock
• Yearning
• Relief

Compiled by the Lincoln/Greater Nebraska Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, 1999.