Employee Grief and Loss

Grief is the powerful, often painful and confusing, response to the loss of an important person in your life. It changes how you feel, physically and emotionally, and how you think and behave. It is important to realise that ‘normal’ grieving does not mean it is ‘easy’. Grief is a difficult experience; having an understanding of the many feelings and sensations involved will not take the pain away, but it can help to make it more manageable.

It is easy to imagine that you are ‘cracking up’, that there is something physically and mentally wrong with you during this time of grief. Loss of appetite, sleeplessness, absent-minded behaviour, unexpected emotions – these are just some of the signs and symptoms of grief.

Grief is unpredictable: it does not stay the same every day. You may experience many different emotions in any given day. Employee Assistance Programmes can give you professional and sensitive advice on how to cope with these feelings at very difficult times.