Grief, bereavement and loss

Overview

Grief, bereavement, and loss encompass the profound emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual responses to separation from someone or something deeply valued—whether through death, relationship endings, health changes, life transitions, or other significant losses. While commonly associated with the death of a loved one, grief extends to numerous experiences, including miscarriage, divorce, job loss, relocation, loss of independence, or unfulfilled dreams.

This natural, universal human experience manifests uniquely for each person, defying simple timelines or stages, as individuals navigate waves of sadness, anger, confusion, guilt, relief, numbness, and myriad other emotions that may ebb and flow unpredictably. Grief affects the whole person—disrupting sleep, appetite, concentration, physical health, relationships, and sense of meaning or identity. Contemporary understanding recognises that grief is not a problem to be solved or overcome but a process to be honoured, with healing involving integration rather than resolution, and the development of continuing bonds rather than complete detachment.

Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Health (TCIH) modalities offer valuable support for grieving individuals by providing safe spaces for emotional expression, facilitating meaning-making, supporting physiological stress responses, honouring spiritual dimensions, and nurturing self-compassion through the transformative journey of loss.

Common Causes and Contributing Factors

• Death of a loved one - Loss of partner, parent, child, sibling, friend, or pet, with each relationship bringing unique grief dimensions and social support variability
• Relationship endings - Divorce, separation, or ending of significant relationships involving loss of shared future, identity, and established life patterns
• Health diagnoses - Chronic illness, disability, or terminal diagnoses bring grief for lost health, independence, and an anticipated future
• Miscarriage and infant loss - Pregnancy loss, stillbirth, or infant death, carrying profound grief often inadequately acknowledged socially
• Life transitions - Retirement, children leaving home, relocation, or ageing involving loss of familiar roles, routines, and identities
• Traumatic circumstances - Sudden, violent, or unexpected deaths, complicating grief with trauma symptoms and unanswered questions
• Multiple or compounded losses - Accumulation of losses without adequate processing time between them, exhausting coping resources
• Ambiguous loss - Situations lacking closure, such as estrangement, missing persons, dementia, or addictions, where the person is physically present but psychologically absent
• Disenfranchised grief - Losses not socially recognised or validated, such as ex-partners, secret relationships, abortions, or non-death losses
• Cultural and spiritual factors - Individual beliefs, religious frameworks, and cultural contexts significantly shape grief expression and meaning-making

Signs and Symptoms

• Emotional upheaval - Intense sadness, crying episodes, anger, guilt, anxiety, relief, numbness, or rapidly shifting emotions without predictable patterns
• Physical manifestations - Fatigue, sleep disturbances, appetite changes, physical aches, chest tightness, digestive issues, or immune system vulnerability
• Cognitive impacts - Difficulty concentrating, memory problems, confusion, intrusive thoughts about the deceased, or preoccupation with loss
• Social withdrawal - Isolation from others, difficulty engaging in previously enjoyed activities, or feeling disconnected from those who haven't experienced similar loss
• Identity disruption - Questioning sense of self, purpose, or life meaning, particularly when loss is involved central relationship or role
• Yearning and searching - Intense longing for what was lost, searching behaviours, or sensing the presence of deceased loved ones
• Complicated grief - For some, prolonged intense grief that interferes significantly with functioning beyond expected timeframes^[1,3,7]
• Spiritual crisis - Questioning previously held beliefs, anger at a higher power, or searching for meaning and existential purpose
• Anniversary reactions - Intensification of grief symptoms around significant dates, holidays, or anniversaries of loss
• Physical health changes - Increased vulnerability to illness, exacerbation of existing conditions, or new health issues emerging during bereavement

Holistic and TCIH Approaches

Holistic and Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Healthcare (TCIH) care supports the grieving process by honouring individual experiences, facilitating healthy expression, addressing mind-body connections, and nurturing healing through compassionate, whole-person approaches.

• Psychotherapy offers deeper exploration of grief's impact on psychological functioning through evidence-based approaches like grief therapy, cognitive-behavioral techniques for managing intrusive thoughts and behaviors, narrative therapy for constructing meaning from loss, attachment-focused work addressing relationship patterns, trauma processing when death involved traumatic circumstances, exploration of family-of-origin grief patterns, and support for personal growth and transformation emerging from loss experiences^[1,3,7].
• Art Therapy facilitates non-verbal expression of grief through creative processes including painting, drawing, or sculpting to express emotions beyond words, creation of memory books, boxes, or tribute pieces honoring the deceased, use of metaphor and symbolism to explore complex feelings, sand tray work providing safe distance for processing, collage and visual journaling documenting grief journey, and engagement of right-brain processing when left-brain verbal expression feels inadequate or overwhelming^[2].
• Reiki offers gentle energy healing providing deep relaxation and stress relief during emotional turmoil, balancing of energy centers disrupted by grief's intensity, support for physical symptoms manifesting from grief, creation of peaceful space for emotional release without requiring verbal processing, facilitation of spiritual connection and comfort, and honoring of the energetic bond between bereaved and deceased, practiced with compassionate presence supporting self-healing capacities^[5].
• Energy Healing encompasses various modalities addressing the energetic impacts of grief, including clearing of blocked or stagnant energy related to unprocessed emotions, balancing of chakras and energy fields disrupted by loss, support for releasing what no longer serves while honoring continuing bonds, facilitation of spiritual dimensions of grief and connection, and recognition that loss creates energetic shifts requiring realignment and integration for holistic healing⁹.
• Meditation provides contemplative practices supporting grief integration through mindfulness meditation, cultivating present-moment awareness with difficult emotions, loving-kindness practices directing compassion toward self and others, breathwork for regulating stress responses and anxiety, visualization techniques for maintaining connections or finding peace, body scan meditation addressing physical grief manifestations, and silent retreat opportunities for deep reflection, all practiced with gentleness honoring individual readiness and capacity^[1,8].
• End of Life Doulas offer specialized support during final life stages and immediate bereavement through companioning dying individuals and families, creating meaningful rituals and ceremonies around death, providing practical guidance on death planning and wishes, emotional and spiritual support during active dying, respite for family caregivers during terminal illness, facilitation of legacy projects and life review, and immediate bereavement support following death, bridging medical care with holistic, compassionate presence^[6].
• Sound Healing utilizes therapeutic sound vibrations supporting grief healing through singing bowls, gongs, or toning creating resonance that releases held emotions, vibrational frequencies promoting deep relaxation and nervous system regulation, group sound baths providing communal healing experiences, use of specific frequencies for chakra balancing and energy clearing, creation of safe container for emotional release without words, and recognition of sound's ancient role in mourning and ritual across cultures^[4].

Self-Care and Lifestyle Practices

• Allow authentic expression - Give yourself permission to feel and express all emotions without judgment—crying, anger, relief are all normal and healthy
• Maintain gentle routines - Keep basic self-care structures like regular sleep, simple meals, and minimal activity even when motivation is absent
• Move your body - Engage in gentle physical activity like walking, yoga, or stretching to process grief held in the body and regulate stress hormones
• Connect with support - Reach out to trusted friends, family, support groups, or grief communities who can witness your experience without fixing
• Create rituals - Develop personal or cultural rituals honouring your loss—lighting candles, visiting meaningful places, or anniversary remembrances
• Limit major decisions - Postpone significant life changes when possible during acute grief; give yourself time before major decisions
• Journal your experience - Write freely about thoughts, feelings, memories, and questions as a form of processing and documenting your journey
• Be patient with yourself - Release expectations about how you "should" grieve or arbitrary timelines for "getting over it"—grief has its own rhythm
• Maintain meaning-making - Engage in activities connected to your values or legacy, honouring the deceased through volunteer work or meaningful projects
• Seek beauty and nature - Spend time in natural settings that provide solace, perspective, and connection to larger cycles of life and death

When to Seek Professional Support

Conventional medical practitioners should be consulted when grief triggers clinical depression or anxiety disorders requiring assessment and possible medication, physical health deteriorates significantly, or chronic conditions worsen, sleep disturbances become severe or prolonged, thoughts of self-harm or suicide emerge, or substance use increases as a coping mechanism. Medical attention is important when experiencing inability to care for basic needs or dependents, complete withdrawal from all social contact and activities, or physical symptoms requiring medical evaluation. Immediate care is needed for suicidal thoughts with plan or intent, inability to function in daily life, or severe depression with psychotic features.

A verified SoulAdvisor practitioner can work collaboratively with medical providers to offer compassionate complementary support. This integrative approach recognises that grief is not an illness to cure, but a profound human experience that deserves understanding and care. Healing from loss is a process of integration rather than resolution, and each person grieves differently depending on culture, relationship, and circumstance.

By honouring both the psychological and spiritual dimensions of grief, this approach supports individuals as they move through sorrow, meaning-making, and gradual transformation. It helps people carry their loss forward while rebuilding lives that can hold both grief and joy, memory and presence, continuing bonds and emerging identities. Through gentle, personalised support, individuals are empowered to navigate profound change with resilience and connection.