6 common feelings of loss

After losing something or someone you love, it can be difficult to sort through the waves of how you feel. And if you are supporting a loved one who has experienced a loss, it can be difficult to figure out how to help if they struggle to identify where they are at emotionally.

This infographic gives you definitions for six common feelings of loss to help you identify what you or your loved one are experiencing at a given moment.

Transcript:

Six Feelings of Loss

Definitions from Cambridge English Dictionary

Shock:
“(the emotional or physical reaction to) a sudden, unexpected, and usually unpleasant event or experience”
“a feeling of being offended or upset by something you consider wrong or unacceptable”

Numbness:
“lack of physical or emotional feeling”
Numb: “not able to feel any emotions or to think clearly, because you are so shocked or frightened, etc.”

Denial:
“an unwillingness to accept that something unpleasant is true”
“a state in which someone will not admit that they have knowledge, responsibility, or feelings”

Disbelief & Disorganization:
1. “the feeling of not being able to believe that something is true or real”
2. “a lack of ability to plan or organize things well”

Confusion:
“a situation in which people do not understand what is happening, what they should do or who someone or something is”
“a lack of understanding, or a state of disorder”

Yearning:
“a strong feeling of wishing for something, especially something that you cannot have or get easily”

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Compiled by Abby Jorgensen, the Sociologist Doula
https://abbythesociologistdoula.com

You can find information about these feelings of loss at http://bit.ly/20Qj2H9 and https://bit.ly/33roE4x.