stressors while grieving. If so, do not consider it a weakness. You have suffered severe trauma and deserve professional help to begin feeling better physi- cally and mentally. You may only need medication prescribed for a short amount of time. Psychological and Emotional Responses to Traumatic Grief Although everyone’s grief response is different it’s important for you to take note of those grief reactions that are particularly common so that if you experience them, you will know what’s happening to you. Some common grief reactions may include: Isolation As someone who is grieving the death of a loved one who died due to an underage drinking tragedy, you may feel isolated. There may be some people around you who fail to acknowl- edge your feelings of grief. Additional pain is felt when others fail or disregard your need for support. Regardless of the circumstances, you are a bereaved loved one who deserves support and understanding. Feelings of isolation can lead to an increase in emotional pain that can be so intense that it is almost intolerable. People who have experi- enced the traumatic death of a loved one may have problems concentrating or become easily distracted. You may start an activity and forget
what you were about to do, only to begin again. Even though you feel isolated, or that you feel like iso- lating yourself from
Everyone deals with grief differently.
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