During hard times, many of us experience a wide range of emotions – sadness, fear, disappointment, anger, pain, anxiety or numbness. But often underneath these emotions there is something more difficult to name and understand: grief.

Grief is the natural response to losing something of value. Most of us think of grief as death of a loved one, but it can also come from loss of a job, the end of a relationship, the loss of safety or security after a frightening incident, or the loss that accompanies major life changes.

When we lose something valuable (either tangible or intangible), our bodies and behaviors respond naturally. For some, our bodies respond to grief by becoming numb or detached from the world. Some of us respond to grief by keeping busier than usual, working around the clock to avoid feeling what’s happening in the body. Others cope with humor. For many, grief can manifest in the body as poor concentration, poor sleeping habits, a non-existent diet, or a desire to not do anything pleasurable at all.

We do not tell our bodies to grieve. This process happens naturally as a response to loss. This is why the first step to managing grief is to acknowledge it. Grief is often accompanied by a range of emotions, including sadness, numbness, anger, confusion or anxiety. There are no right or wrong emotions when it comes to grief, but it is important to notice the accompanying emotions and allow ourselves to feel them in order to heal.

After you’ve acknowledged the grief, you can begin the process of mourning, which is the task of processing through the grief. For more on mourning, click here.