When you lose a loved one – be they be your friend, family, or even pet – it can leave a gaping hole in your heart. Along with all the conflicting emotions and grief, it’s common to experience stress. Grief and stress are both natural reactions to the loss of a loved one, but are they truly similar, or is there a difference between these two reactions?
Grief brings feelings of helplessness, denial, and confusion, whereas stress evokes feelings of overwhelming anger, anxiety, and guilt. There are situations where you might experience the symptoms of grief in place of stress and vice versa.
So, how do we separate them? How to know the difference between grief and stress? How does grief affect stress?
This article covers all about the relationship between grief and stress and how you can constructively manage your emotions during tough times.
Are Grief and Stress The Same?
Because of their similar emotions and symptoms, many people confuse grief and stress with one another. When you’re mourning the loss of someone or something, you experience common reactions such as;
Uncontrollable crying
Sleep issues
Loss of concentration
Loss of appetite
Gastrointestinal problems
Inflammation
Pain, and
Headache
Normally, we grieve for a period and after a while, we resume our daily life. We never forget the ones we lost, but once we reach the acceptance stage of grief, coping with emotions becomes easier.
However, when you experience stress or challenges, it could cause mental, physical, and emotional distress. Stress is our body’s natural way to react to anything our minds and bodies consider dangerous or threatening. To protect us, our bodies go into flight-fight mode, releasing cortisol and adrenaline.
When we’re stressed, we experience common symptoms such as;
Insomnia
Poor concentration
Aches and pains
Diarrhea
Nausea
Dizziness
Trembling, and
Hot/cold flashes
These symptoms are a lot similar to symptoms of grief, so it’s easy to feel confused between the two.
Grief vs. Stress: The Differences
While grief and stress might seem similar, there are differences between the two. Grief often occurs in waves and could be triggered by a memory. Once you pass the memory, you feel okay once more. This kind of extreme grief occurs in the beginning when you’ve just gone through the loss of a loved one, but as the weeks and years go by, your grief turns into something less intense.
When I talk about stress, let’s just say that it comes and goes. The causes of stress are different but not less traumatic than the causes of grief. We often feel stressed when we face pressure about finances, work, relationships, or life in general. Stress triggers our body’s flight-fight-freeze reaction, which causes high blood pressure, increased heart rate, and stomach cramps. When stress persists for longer than two weeks, it can be labeled as “chronic stress”.
We’re talking about grief and stress, so let’s touch upon a syndrome that encompasses both – Broken Heart Syndrome.
Feeling heartbroken over something might seem whimsical, but it can be quite intense on your heart and mind. The stress caused by a broken heart or grief can trigger acute stress symptoms that can directly weaken your heart.
Broken heart syndrome can cause symptoms such as;
Chest pains
Shortness of breath
Heart palpitations
While these symptoms are short-term, the persistence of these symptoms can cause heart disease in the long run. Did you know that middle-aged women and older women were more likely to be diagnosed with broken heart syndrome than younger men and women?
If you’re experiencing chest pain or symptoms of stress, grief, or broken heart syndrome, then it’s recommended you speak to a professional and get a diagnosis.
How to Treat These Symptoms?
The treatment of sadness caused by grief and distress caused by stress can be done with the help of a professional. If you’re constantly experiencing sadness and distress, then it could be a sign of complicated grief or prolonged grief disorder. Talking to a counselor can help you manage your symptoms and heal.
Counseling approaches to treat grief and even the stress caused by grief can be
cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal therapy (IPT), and attachment theory. With these therapy approaches, you can find healthy ways to release pent-up and unhealthy emotions and begin your healing journey.
What you shouldn’t do when healing is;
Give up on healing or therapy
Blame others for the loss
Become aggressive
Avoid facing your emotions
Depend on substances such as alcohol or drugs
What you can do to heal is;
Pay attention to your body’s needs
Eat a healthy and well-balanced diet
Exercise regularly
Get at least 7–8 hours of restful sleep
Engage in breathing exercises to release stress
Talk about your feelings with trusted people in your life
Reach out to a grief counselor for support
Look at the loss from a different perspective
Engage in things that bring you joy
Practice gratitude, even when you don’t feel it
Spend time with people who encourage you to heal
Express your emotions with creative and expressive therapy
Journal your feelings and thoughts to understand your triggers and how to manage them, effectively
Wrapping Up…
Grief and stress might have many similarities between them, but they’re also different. Both of these emotions are natural reactions to a traumatic event in your life, but how you deal with them changes how you react to these emotions.
If you’re having a hard time coping with symptoms of grief and stress, then don’t hesitate to seek help from a professional who can offer you the right support and strategies to effectively cope with these emotions and begin your healing journey.
You don’t choose to experience these emotions, but you choose how to cope with them. Choose wisely and begin healing today.
I hope this article can help you understand the relationship between grief and stress and how grief affects stress. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Take Care!
The post Grief And Stress: Understanding The Connection (And How to Cope) appeared first on Calm Sage – Your Guide to Mental and Emotional Well-being.