What are the emotions that someone usually experiences right after the death of a loved one?
Reacting to the death of a loved one is a total body experience. The initial emotions may involve shock and numbness, intense sadness, anger and bitterness. Behavioral reactions may include crying, social withdrawal and fatigue. People may find themselves preoccupied with thoughts of the deceased and unable to concentrate. They may even have physical symptoms such as loss of appetite and sleep disturbances. Does the type of death affect how someone reacts usually? The sudden death is more of a shock; it can take people a while to come to accept that the death has really happened before they actually start grieving. When death is sudden, people don’t have time to prepare, but when it takes a long time, it can be a very difficult experience for people to see their loved one wasting away. “However, in a study of bereaved spouses that I did a few years ago, after two years, it didn’t make a difference whether the death was sudden or anticipated,” says Ott. Reactions are more difficult when
