Grief is a natural reaction to the death of someone important to you. It's common for grief to cause physical symptoms. But you may find it frightening if you do not know why you're having these symptoms. And you might be worried that you have an undiagnosed health problem, or that grief is making you ill.
Watch: What does grief feel like?Watch: What does grief feel like?
Gen, Carol, Scott, and Wendy share some of their physical reactions to grief, like feeling breathless, numb and empty.
Common physical symptoms of grief
These are some of the physical symptoms of grief that you may experience:
- a hollow feeling in your stomach
- tightness, or heaviness, in your chest or throat
- oversensitivity to noise
- difficulty breathing
- feeling very tired and weak
- a lack of energy
- dry mouth
- an increase or decrease in appetite
- finding it hard to sleep or fear of sleeping
- aches and pains.
Some people find they have symptoms that are like the ones that the person who died had. These can be connected to your grief, but they could be caused by something else.
If you are worried about any physical symptoms, it is important to have them checked by your GP in case there is an underlying medical problem.
Watch: Your feelings after someone diesWatch: Your feelings after someone dies
This video includes information about some of the physical symptoms of grief.
Does grief make you tired?
It is very common to feel tired, or exhausted, when you are grieving. There are many reasons why you may feel tired, especially if you were caring for the person who died. Strong emotions along with all the practical things you may have needed to do after they died, can also leave you feeling exhausted. If you are finding it difficult to sleep, then this will naturally mean that you feel more tired also.
Grief and anxiety
It is normal that some people feel anxious or worried after experiencing the death of someone important to them.
Anxiety can feel different for everyone, but it may be the reason you're experiencing physical symptoms like a tightness or heaviness in your chest, or breathlessness. It may also affect your mental health and how you behave.
Getting support for physical symptoms of grief and anxiety
It's important to speak to your GP or another healthcare professional about any symptoms you're worried about − especially if you're feeling anxious about your health.
You may want to tell them that you think your symptoms could be connected to your grief. This can help them to understand what you're experiencing and work out the best way to support you.
However, it's important for them to check first for any underlying problems. This is because people who are grieving can be more likely to catch infections or develop health problems, because stress makes your body more vulnerable.
But whether your symptoms are caused by a physical problem, grief, or anxiety connected to grief − they are still real. It's important to get support from a healthcare professional.
How else might you feel?
When you're grieving, you will experience all sorts of emotions at different times.
Many people will feel sadness, but you may feel other things like anger − or you might feel numb or shocked.