Trauma & Grief
Prolonged Grief Disorder
Grief that stays acute and disabling for over a year, where the loss dominates daily life and normal life does not resume.
What it can feel like
- Persistent longing or preoccupation with the person who died
- Intense pain, disbelief, or avoidance of reminders
- Difficulty accepting the reality of the loss
- Numbness, or a sense of lost identity
- Withdrawal from work, friends and plans
Not everyone has every symptom, and you do not need a label to deserve support.
Things that help
Let grief be specific
Talk about the person and the loss in concrete detail. Vague sadness resists processing; specifics can be held.
Keep a continuing bond, deliberately
A ritual, a letter, a place. Grief is not about forgetting, it is about finding a place for the person inside a life that continues.
Rejoin the world in tiny doses
One contact, one outing, one task. Re-engagement is part of recovery, not a betrayal.
Want to actually do these? Save them to your practices and tick them off as you go.
Add to my practicesWhen to reach for more support
Grief therapy helps when grief is stuck. Speak to a GP or a bereavement service if the pain is still ruling your days after a year.
Often looked at together
Adjustment Disorder
Distress that arrives within three months of a significant change, such as a breakup, job loss, illness or move, and outweighs what would be expected.
Complex PTSD
Prolonged or repeated trauma, often in childhood or in a relationship, that shapes how safe, worthy and in control you feel as a person.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
A lasting stress response after a traumatic event, where the threat keeps replaying in the body long after it has ended.