Anxious grief can cause physical and emotional symptoms.
Physical symptoms
- Sleep issues: Difficulty sleeping, nightmares, or disturbed sleep
- Chest pain: A feeling of heaviness or tightness in your chest or throat
- Aches and pains: Body aches, headaches, or stomach aches
- Fatigue: Feeling tired, weak, or exhausted
- Appetite changes: Loss of appetite, comfort eating, or an increase or decrease in appetite
- Oversensitivity: Sensitivity to noise
- Heart palpitations: Heart palpitations or difficulty breathing
Emotional symptoms
- Anxiety: Feeling anxious, scared, or having panic attacks
- Intense emotions: Intense sorrow, pain, anger, bitterness, or longing
- Numbness: Feeling numb or detached
- Identity disruption: Feeling as if part of yourself has died
- Disbelief: Having a marked sense of disbelief about the death
- Avoidance: Avoiding reminders of the death or people and places associated with the deceased
- Loneliness: Feeling intense loneliness or alone
Anxiety disorders can make the grieving process longer and more difficult. If you are experiencing symptoms of anxious grief, you can consider talking with a healthcare provider.
If you are experiencing grief-related thoughts, behaviors, or feelings that are distressing, please contact me today to start your grief journey.