Understanding the difference between the terms grief, mourning and bereavement.
I just wanted to make a clarification in case anyone was ever unsure about the differences in these terms. We see them listed together all the time and I know for a long time the differences weren't clear to me. Grief is the internal feeling of loss and painful to everyone. Mourning is the outward physical display of our internal grief which does look very different between people. Some people don't like to be seen crying or upset. It doesn't mean the internal grief is any less than someone very openly expressing their feelings. Both are ok and normal. Bereavement is just the time period of typical mourning following a loss. Grief can apply to things or people well before we actually lose them.
@ThoughtLight I grieve but haven't mourned. People have said it's weird that I haven't. I've been pretty numb since it happened. So that might be some of it
I knew the terms but didn't look into the differences behind each one. In all honesty I thought they were all pretty much the same thing. Just different names. Thank you for clarifying Light :)
@mytwistedsoul the numb feeling is normal. It is shock. Since my 2 losses in early Spring, I've had shock to some degree every day since and hope it stays. Mourning is the part that is the most different between people. Personally, for me it is very private if I can help it. Shock, the numbness you feel, is your brain's automatic way of trying to protect toy from any pain.