Bereavement
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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
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Coping with Grief: Life After Loss
(National Institutes of Health)
Also in Spanish
- Coping with Loss: Bereavement and Grief (Mental Health America)
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Grief, Bereavement, and Coping with Loss (PDQ)
(National Cancer Institute)
Also in Spanish
- Understanding Grief and Loss (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
Symptoms
- Symptoms of Major Depression and Complicated Grief (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
Related Issues
- Bereaved Employee: Returning to Work (American Hospice Foundation)
- Complicated Grief (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Death at the Worksite: Helping Grieving Family Members (American Hospice Foundation)
- End of Life: Dealing with Grief and Confronting Painful Emotions (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- End of Life: Suicide Grief (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Grief: Coping with the Reminders After a Loss: Grief Doesn't Magically End at a Certain Point After a Loved One's Death (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Grieving the Loss of a Sibling (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
- Helping a Grieving Parent (American Hospice Foundation)
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Mourning the Death of a Spouse
(National Institute on Aging)
Also in Spanish
- Pregnancy Loss: How to Cope (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- 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)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Bereavement
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Grief
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Children
- Children and Grief (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) Also in Spanish
- Helping Grieving Children and Teenagers (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
- Helping Your Child Deal with Death (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- How Children Understand Death & What You Should Say (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
Teenagers
- 5 Ways to Cope When a Loved One Dies (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Death and Grief (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Grieving Teen (American Hospice Foundation)
- Helping Grieving Children and Teenagers (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
Seniors
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Getting Help for Your Grief
(National Institute on Aging)
- Grief and Loss as Alzheimer's Progresses (Alzheimer's Association)