Prolonged Grief Test
I can't stop thinking about the person who passed away.
Without them here, I feel completely adrift and directionless.
I keep replaying scenarios where I could have prevented their death.
My identity feels shattered now that they're no longer part of my life.
It's hard to accept the reality that they're actually gone.
I deliberately steer clear of locations that trigger memories of my loss.
Social gatherings don't hold any appeal for me anymore since they died.
My mind struggles to process that they're truly no longer with me.
Surviving feels wrong when they didn't get that chance.
The pain of their absence hits me with overwhelming intensity.
I ache with longing to have them back in my life.
It feels like pieces of who I was vanished when they died.
Nothing seems to matter or have purpose since they left.
My emotions feel frozen and inaccessible most of the time.
Hobbies and pastimes that once brought me joy now feel empty.
I've become distant and disconnected from people around me.
Spending time with friends feels like too much effort now.
Resentment and frustration bubble up when I think about what happened.
Making plans for tomorrow or next year feels pointless.
The thought of someday seeing them again gives me comfort.
20 questions remaining
What You Should Know
It's normal to feel sad when you lose someone. For most people, the sadness gets less intense over time.
- Grief is a very personal experience, and there is no set way to know what part of a person will be missed the most.
- When someone loses a loved one, the corpus striatum, which is a big part of the brain's reward circuit, becomes active. It makes you want to be with that person.
- Grief is more than just an emotional response; it affects the whole body and can make it hard to sleep and do other normal things.
- Evidence indicates that 7-10% of bereaved adults endure prolonged grief.
Change Things Now
Accept how you feel. Grief is more than just sadness; it can bring up a lot of different feelings.
Seek community. Talking about a loved one who has died can help people find meaning in their loss and speed up the grieving process in many other ways.
Make up your own ritual. Choose a small thing you can do to remember the person who has passed away with love.
