Grief and Bereavement

You will see a psychiatric medical provider on your first visit, who will assess and work with you to explore how they can help you grieve. They will help you understand that you are not alone in feeling out of your depth, and they will discuss how the process normally occurs. If the loss has triggered depression or other mood disorders, they will prescribe medication to reduce your symptoms, and recommend a treatment plan.

Everyone’s experience of grief is different, especially considering that loved ones die at different ages, different stages of life, and in different manners. Losing a parent is, for example, not the same as losing a child. Neither type of grief is necessarily better or worse than the other, but it will impact you in a different way. The same can be said for a loss that happens suddenly or occurs over a long period of time. There is therefore no one-size-fits-all approach to bereavement. Seeing a therapist is, however, a good place to start, as they will help you talk through the loss and explore what you are struggling with most. They can help you identify what is particularly difficult to deal with, and in which ways you may be avoiding confronting the loss. Grief feels overwhelming and no one is truly ready for bereavement. With the help of professionals, as well as the comfort of support groups, you can process your grief in a healthy way that lets you remember your loved one and helps you to live with their loss.

When you’re suffering from depression, your experience feels, unlike normal transient emotions. You experience an intense sadness or lowness that impacts your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and continues for a period of days, weeks, or months. It may feel all-encompassing and lead to changes in sleep, appetite, concentration, and energy. You do not enjoy the things that usually give you pleasure, and you feel little to no motivation to attend to personal or professional tasks.

Depression can feel frightening, as it is not always easy to identify what is causing it. Whereas losing something or someone may lead to sadness, depression can seem to come out of nowhere. One day you felt fine, and the next you found yourself struggling to get out of bed. This is because depression is not one feeling, but a complex response to changes in brain chemicals, as well as a range of overwhelming emotions. It can come out of nowhere, or it can be triggered by life events.

You’re not alone. More than 17 million Americans suffer from depression. With treatment, using medication, therapy, or a combination of the two, you can recover and learn to prevent future episodes.

There are different types of depression.

Atypical Depression

Atypical depression refers to a persistent low mood, often accompanied by low motivation, over-sleeping, over-eating, or other common symptoms of depression. However, people suffering from atypical depression may find their mood improved temporarily by a positive event.

Atypical depression is commonly listed towards the end of lists of types of depression. However, this may lead some to believe that what they are suffering with is not “bad enough” to be depression. Contrary to its name, atypical depression is not uncommon but was simply identified after other types of depression.

Major Depression

You may have major depression if you experience a low mood most of the time on most days. Major depression makes it very difficult to function on a day-to-day basis, as you struggle with low motivation, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, over-sleeping or difficulty sleeping, and difficulty experiencing pleasure. You might also feel guilty for your lack of motivation and decreased ability to function “as normal”. Chances are you believe that the depression is your own fault.

Major depression can become very severe and it might feel unbearable. It can cause you to wonder how you will get through the day, cause terrible agitation, and lead to suicidal thoughts. It can be treated with medication and therapy.

Adjustment Disorder (Situational Depression)

Otherwise known as situational depression, adjustment disorder refers to depression that occurs during a stressful or troubling period of life. While sadness and low mood may be a typical response, adjustment disorder is characterized by the symptoms of major depression and can be treated with medication and therapy.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) refers to depression that occurs over a particular season (usually winter). It can be treated with antidepressants, therapy, and light therapy which mimics the effects of the sunlight lacking during the short, gloomy days.

Postpartum Depression

Many women experience peripartum or postpartum depression during and after pregnancy. This can be very troubling, especially as many mothers believe they should be happy and energetic at the start of motherhood. However, it is common and does not correlate with particular feelings or beliefs about parenting. On the contrary, it impacts even the healthiest feelings and beliefs about parenting, and these should be explored in therapy.

Bereavement refers to the period after a loss during which you grieve and try to process your experience. During the bereavement, you will experience a range of emotions, including sadness, anger, guilt, and despair. Most of us think we would rather never feel how we feel during bereavement. However, grief is a healthy expression of love and our ability to attach meaning to life. The bereavement process is therefore very important, and it plays an important role in how you grieve, memorialize, and ultimately move on. Because grief can be so overwhelming, we are not well-equipped to handle it on our own. When we try and do so, we are either paralyzed by the emotions or avoid processing them fully. In the first instance, we have difficulty living functionally and end up processing the grief in a destructive way. In the second instance, we don’t process the grief fully or at all, and the remaining feelings continue to impact our lives, whether or not we are aware of them.