Grief is a perfectly natural human experience.
There is nothing pathological about grief or feelings of loss. However, it can be very helpful to speak with a therapist about your grief and the loss you might be experiencing. And if your grief lasts longer than one year, for an adult, it might be considered problematic, as in the new diagnosis of “prolonged grief disorder.”
While someone is grieving, they can also develop or experience symptoms of a clinical illness, such as depression. This occurs when they begin to experience physical or “clinical” symptoms from the grief. Your therapist will be mindful of this while helping you work through your grief.
While it is normal to have the “pangs of grief,” which occur in waves and allow the individual to anticipate some pleasure in life. Through grief therapy, you can discuss your thoughts and feelings to process your grief and to be sure it is not something more serious, especially as time passes.
