Bereavement

Summary

Bereavement is the period of grief and mourning after a death. When you grieve, it’s part of the normal process of reacting to a loss. You may experience grief as a mental, physical, social or emotional reaction. Mental reactions can include anger, guilt, anxiety, sadness and despair. Physical reactions can include sleeping problems, changes in appetite, physical problems or illness.

How long bereavement lasts can depend on how close you were to the person who died, if the person’s death was expected and other factors. Friends, family and faith may be sources of support. Grief counseling or grief therapy is also helpful to some people.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Teenagers

• 5 Ways to Cope When a Loved One Dies Nemours Foundation
• Death and Grief Nemours Foundation
• Helping Grieving Children and Teenagers American Society of Clinical Oncology

Related Issues

• Bereaved Employee: Returning to Work American Hospice Foundation
• Complicated Grief Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• End of Life: Suicide Grief Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Grief And Bereavement American Cancer Society
• Grieving the Loss of a Sibling American Society of Clinical Oncology
• Helping a Grieving Parent American Hospice Foundation
• Mourning the Death of a Spouse National Institute on Aging
• Understanding Grief within a Cultural Context American Society of Clinical Oncology
• Writing a Condolence Note American Hospice Foundation
• You Know You Are Getting Better When… American Hospice Foundation

Start Here

• Bereavement and Grief Mental Health America
• Coping with Grief: Life after Loss National Institutes of Health
• Grief, Bereavement, and Loss National Cancer Institute
• Seeking Help and Support for Grief and Loss American Cancer Society
• Understanding Grief and Loss American Society of Clinical Oncology

Encyclopedia

• Children and grief Medical Encyclopedia

Children

• Children and Grief American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Helping Your Child Deal with Death Nemours Foundation

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Bereavement National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Grief National Institutes of Health

Find an Expert

• Compassionate Friends Compassionate Friends

Patient Handouts

• Grief Medical Encyclopedia

Older Adults

• Grief and Loss as Alzheimer’s Progresses Alzheimer’s Association

Journal Articles

• Bereavement