Being Grief-Informed: From Understanding to Action

Grief is a natural response to loss. How people grieve privately or publicly varies and is based on many factors, including their personality and what their social context has shown, taught, or demonstrated as “appropriate.” A dominant attitude in “mainstream” society is that grief is an individual emotional experience which has predictable stages and a defined timeline. Defining grief this way suggests that if your “symptoms” last too long, or are too intense, you may have a “mental disorder” needing treatment. And this is problematic.

Everyone responds to grief in a unique way and grief can last a lifetime…and that is completely normal. This doesn’t mean grieving is easy or that people won’t experience emotional, physical, spiritual, and/or relational challenges. Rather than label people “disordered” or “dysfunctional,” we need to understand the holistic nature of grief. To be grief-informed not only means having knowledge about grief, it also means knowing how to put this understanding into action. Download the Tip Sheet