A Glossary of Grief, Home for grief

Take what helps and leave the rest.

Part One, The Textures of Grief

The felt experience of grieving, and the everyday language people use to describe it.

A note on the difference: a hangover follows a single wave; fatigue is the ongoing tiredness of carrying loss; burnout is the collapse reached after too long without rest. They overlap, and many people move between them.

Part Two, Sixteen Types of Grief

Forms of grief named in grief literature and popular references. Several overlap, and grief researchers do not all use these exact categories, they are offered here as a map, not a rulebook.

On overlap: Some of these clearly overlap, complicated, chronic, and prolonged grief describe closely related experiences, as do masked and inhibited grief. Overlap is normal. No one's grief needs to fit a single label.

However grief arrives (as a wave, a fog, a sudden burst, or a long weariness) it is not a problem to be solved or a stage to be passed through on schedule. These words exist to help you recognise what you are feeling and to know you are not alone in feeling it. What stays, beneath all of it, is the love. Sometimes that love is a light; sometimes it is a grounding. Either way, it remains.

A glossary of grief.

Part One, The Textures of Grief

Grief wave

Grief hangover

Grief burst

Grief attack

Grief tsunami

Grief triggers

Grief brain (grief fog)

Grief fatigue (grief exhaustion)

Grief burnout

Part Two, Sixteen Types of Grief

Normal grief

Complicated grief

Traumatic grief

Chronic grief

Anticipatory grief

Disenfranchised grief

Distorted grief

Exaggerated grief

Masked grief

Inhibited grief

Collective grief

Cumulative grief

Prolonged grief

Abbreviated grief

Delayed grief

Absent grief

Part One, The Textures of Grief

Grief waveGrief that comes and goes like water, rather than fading in a straight line.

Grief wave

Grief hangoverThe wrung-out, foggy aftermath once a heavy wave of grief has passed.

Grief hangover

Grief burstA sudden, brief surge of intense grief that breaks through without much warning.

Grief burst

Grief attackA sudden eruption of grief carrying panic-like physical symptoms, usually brief.

Grief attack

Grief tsunamiAn unusually large wave of grief that overwhelms you all at once.

Grief tsunami

Grief triggersThe reminders (a song, a date, a place) that suddenly reawaken grief.

Grief triggers

Grief brain (grief fog)The forgetfulness and mental cloudiness that grief brings.

Grief brain (grief fog)

Grief fatigue (grief exhaustion)A deep, lasting tiredness from carrying loss that sleep alone won't fix.

Grief fatigue (grief exhaustion)

Grief burnoutThe point of collapse after grieving and carrying life's demands too long without rest.

Grief burnout

Part Two, Sixteen Types of Grief

Normal griefThe natural response to loss, softening gradually over time.

Normal grief

Complicated griefGrief that stays intense and disabling long after the loss.

Complicated grief

Traumatic griefGrief following a sudden, violent, or shocking loss.

Traumatic grief

Chronic griefGrief that does not subside, continuing at full intensity for a long time.

Chronic grief

Anticipatory griefGrief that begins before a loss has happened.

Anticipatory grief

Disenfranchised griefGrief that isn't openly acknowledged or socially supported.

Disenfranchised grief

Distorted griefGrief that shows up as extreme or out-of-character reactions.

Distorted grief

Exaggerated griefGrief that intensifies over time rather than easing.

Exaggerated grief

Masked griefGrief the person doesn't recognise as grief, surfacing as other symptoms.

Masked grief

Inhibited griefGrief that is held back, often turning into physical symptoms.

Inhibited grief

Collective griefGrief shared by a whole community, nation, or the world.

Collective grief

Cumulative griefGrief upon grief, when losses pile up faster than they can be processed.

Cumulative grief

Prolonged griefGrief that remains intense and impairing well beyond what's expected.

Prolonged grief

Abbreviated griefA genuine but short-lived grief.

Abbreviated grief

Delayed griefGrief whose full force is postponed, sometimes for a long time.

Delayed grief

Absent griefWhen someone shows little or no outward sign of grieving.

Absent grief