Pet Bereavement

One stage of grief is anger.  During this time, individuals will experience anger about their loss, wondering why it happened to them, they may lash out at inanimate objects, strangers, people they know, and feel angry at life itself.

Grief can affect appetite in different ways for different people, depending on how they relate to food emotionally.  Some people may lose all interest in food and not experience hunger, or feel too preoccupied by their grief, while others may eat more due to the stress they feel.  

An example of bargaining is when we ask a higher power to bring back our loved one in exchange for something.  Bereavement brings about feelings of helplessness.  Bargaining is an attempt at defending ourselves from the threat of loss as we struggle to reconcile what has happened, and accept the limits of our control in the situation.

Although the stages of grief are thought not to be chronological and linear, denial is often one of the first stages experienced.  When people are in denial, they attempt to minimize the overwhelming and all encompassing experience of loss, to survive the emotional pain.

It is quite normal to experience guilt when someone dies.  This can happen for many reasons, for example, you may wish you had done or said things differently when the loved one was alive, possibly believing you could have prevented their death, or feel guilty because you believe you should not have outlived your loved one (for example, when losing a child).

People can feel consumed with thoughts and feelings of loss, sadness, grief, and loneliness.  This focus on bereavement means the brain is overloaded and unable to function as normal.  This can result in issues with cognition, memory, and concentration.

Some people can experience an emotional numbness due to ‘inhibited grief’.  This is when emotions are suppressed, possibly to protect oneself.  Sometimes people can be (mis)judged when they grieve in this way because it does not ‘look’ like grief ‘should’.

One of the most common stages of grief is depression.  It is also one of the most difficult and prolonged stages of the process of grieving.

The loss of someone or something can feel shocking due to the finality of it.  And because we often don’t think about life without them.  Even if we do think about it (for example, in anticipatory grief), the reality can be very different from what was expected.

Sleep becomes problematic when we experience grief.  You may find it difficult to fall asleep easily, or you might wake up throughout the night, or wake up early in the morning.  You may even wish to sleep more because this is the only time you feel you can rest from your grief.

When people feel intense grief because of the loss of a cherished loved one, they might need space and time for themselves to process their feelings and heal.  But, they may also wish to avoid life and people because they do not feel understood.