My Bedroom
Emotions, Grief, and Mental Health
Overview
Welcome to your Bedroom! Grief is a normal human reaction, but it is one of the most painful emotional experiences that any one of us will have during our lifetimes. In addition to being an intense and painful emotional experience, grief also affects us physically and cognitively. Acute grief refers to the intense painful feelings we have immediately following the loss of a loved one. Although grief never “goes away” the intensity of feelings tends to lessen over time as grief finds its rightful and integrated place in our lives. Individual grief journeys are likely to be different from person to person and there is no single “right way” to grieve. Although everyone is likely to be different in how we grieve, we do know that some individuals struggle more with adapting to grief. Prolonged grief disorder (or PGD) is a condition that a minority of bereaved individuals will experience, but PGD involves prolonged and intense feelings of grief that do not improve over time, leads to distress and functional impairment, and typically responds to grief-specific treatments.
In your Bedroom, you will find resources about grief, how we understand it, and its effects on mental health. In addition, there are resources related to PGD, what it is and how to treat it, the unique experience of suicide loss, suicidal feelings that can arise in bereaved individuals, as well as how to get professional help when required. Use the Self-Care Journey section to keep notes about your own experiences and how you would like to care for yourself through your grief journey.
