Grief Vs Major Depression

Grief is defined as a type of emotional or mental suffering from a loss, sorrow, or regret (Dictionary.com, LLC, 2010). Grief affects people of all ages, races, and sexes around the world. Approximately, 36% of the world’s population does or has suffered from grief and only a mere 10% of these people will seek out help (Theravive, 2009). Once a person is suffering from grief it is important to receive treatment. All too often, people ignore grief resulting in deep depression, substance abuse, and other disorders (Theravive, 2009). Grief counseling is very common and can be very helpful to a person in need of assistance. Grief counseling provides the support, understanding, and

One of the concepts that people do not understand about grief and loss is the general idea of what it is and how it impacts people. According to Teen Health and Wellness’s article “Grief and Loss: Experiencing Loss,” is what happens when you no longer have something or someone that was extremely significant in your life, and the emotions that result are very real to you. You are entitled to these emotions. Many experts believe that the best thing for a person grieving to do is to let themselves feel sad. Lattanzi-Licht writes, common symptoms of grief are: “guilt or anger; restlessness; a sense of unreality about the loss; difficulty sleeping, eating and concentrating; mood changes; a loss of energy; constant thoughts of the

People tend to deal or cope with death in a variety of ways, ranging from a very pleasant or healthy way to destructive. It really depends on how mentally strong and how much support you collect from family member, close friends, or possibly people who have dealt with similar trauma. Joe Manetti from “Always a Motive,” and Eric Clapton, singer and songwriter of “Tears in Heaven,” display quite an army of differences. However, they make it visible that they are not to different from one another. Clapton exposes that he is able to make it through such rough times by writing music. Joe Manetti on the other hand struggles with living with his misery because he does not have a strong outlet of emotions like Clapton does . Grief can be a

Although grief is experienced every day, most people do not have an understanding of what grief actually is. Grief is a deep sorrow, especially caused by someone 's death (Pbs). Death can be an overwhelming, painful, and frightening experience. Grief is classified as a strong, sometimes overwhelming emotion. Grief is a common and firsthand experience that deviates and is influenced by this loss. Grief consist of many stages and can be taken care of by medical treatments and with the proper help by therapist or another licensed professional. A person might find themselves feeling “numb” and empty, and not being able to go through daily life (mayoclinic.org). Grief is the normal, usual way of dealing with a irrecoverable loss of someone or something. Dealing with the pain can last for months or

It's a process that has to be dealt with. Another symptom that people experience is the feeling of numbness. People become so sad about their loss that nothing seems to matter to them anymore. The feeling of joy is gone and nothing brings happiness anymore. People go through their day without feeling anything. Their sadness spreads all over them and they can't control it. Grief is an immediate feeling. It can have various results such as pain, depression, and sadness. Our weakness begins to show more now than ever when we are grieving. We Losing a loved one is different for every person. Every person is different but there is definitely a clear pattern. In total, there are three outcome patterns. The first outcome pattern is chronic grief. Chronic grief is when someone becomes extremely depressed and a high level of grief. This type of grief can last for many years. The second type of grief is called the common grief pattern. This is when a elevation of symptoms such as depression, stress, and anxiety occur but last about a year or two. The third type of grief is when a person is not affected at all by the death of someone. This is very common for people. People may still be sad but they just are not emotional about it and grieve in different ways.

Some individuals may struggle with the grieving process. Poor coping mechanisms can lead to major depressive disorders and even anxiety. Grieving individuals may exhibit signs and symptoms of poor physical health because they stop taking care of themselves. Widows and widowers have 8 to 50 times higher suicide rate than the overall population (Snyder, 2009).

Later, Prigerson et al. (1999) researched disordered grief and found a number of differences as related to anxiety and depression. Both Horowitz and Prigerson’s studies found similarities in that participants had prolonged longing for the deceased, extreme impairing thoughts about the deceased, extreme denial of the death and avoidance ( Boelen & Prigerson, 2007).

Throughout life, there will be forever moments that bring back the stages of grief that will come and go. A thought of your loved one could trigger emotions that feel like depression. Just thinking about how different your life is after their death may still seem unreal, as it did during the initial shock stage. Remembering how their life was at the very end while they were dying can trigger thoughts of what you could have done differently, or what you would give to have them back, which is consistent with

Grief is a part of life that is simply unavoidable. People grieve over a multitude of different things. For instance, when one thinks of grief they often immediately think of death; that a person has to experience the loss of a loved one to understand and go through the grieving process. However, grief is defined as “deep sorrow,” so anything causing one to feel a deep sense of sadness can cause them to go through the grieving process. The process of grief consists of five stages. The first is denial, where one is surprised and shocked to the point of disbelief. The second stage is anger, where one is just mad that it happened in general. Then they enter the third stage of depression, where they are done being mad, but are instead incredibly sad and are having a hard time even functioning. The fourth stage is bargaining, where one grieves their own life and begins to bargain with God and question what they could have done differently. Finally they then reach the fifth and final stage which is acceptance, where one is able to think upon the event and have happy thoughts.

No two people experience grief in the same way, “each person’s grief is like all other people’s grief; each person’s grief is like some other person’s grief; and each person’s grief is like no other person’s grief” (Worden, 2009). How we think and feel, the way our body functions, and the way we interact with others are all affected by grief and mourning. Some common experiences can include: apathy, anger, anxiety, crying, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, Guilt, helplessness, irritability, loneliness,

cause depression if you have lost a loved one but also depression can cause bereavement i.e. the

After a tragic loss someone will go through a grieving process that will either be constructive or destructive. Mourning is a period of time when the person experiencing this loss begins to search for reconciliation and a way to deal with the sadness. They will attempt to move on, forgive and forget, the past. Freud wrote that mourning is a normal reaction to the loss of a love object, which is consciously known and identifiable. People mourning will express their sadness but will be able to eventually part from their love lost. Inversely, Freud says that melancholia develops when the sadness is inappropriate to the situation and becomes internalized. The person suffering from melancholia identifies the lost

Depression, sadness, and grief are natural emotions and you should accept that these feelings are normal. Fighting against how you feel will only worsen the problem, or make you feel guilty for struggling with these emotions. Allow yourself to feel how you feel and gradually encourage yourself to break free from the constraints of negative emotions. Focus on the positive when it arises and find things, even little ones, to look forward to and get excited about.

Belmaker and Agam (2008) described that depression is very similar to the normal emotions of sadness or bereavement, except that sadness does not subside even after the external cause is removed. Likewise, when bereavement or normal sadness exacerbates disproportionately to the external cause, depression is likely appropriate to be considered.

The major difference between sadness caused by Major Depressive Disorder and the loss of a family member is how it originates. Sadness from the loss of a family is a natural reaction that has a clear cause. It is temporary and is not correlated with abnormalities within the brain. On the other hand, Major Depressive Disorder is caused by an imbalance in neurotransmitters and issues with the activation of different brain structures. This type of sadness is caused by abnormalities in the brain and is long-term.