7 Types of Grief: Understanding Different Ways People Experience Loss

After a loss, people may experience as many as seven or more types of grief. These feelings are natural responses, but not everyone experiences grief in the same way or goes through the same type, depending on the situation. While grief is not a clinical diagnosis, understanding the different ways it may appear may help you better process the range of emotions in a difficult time.

What are the 7 types of grief?

Understanding the different types of grief may help explain why loss may feel so different from person to person, and how people may experience grief in several different situations. Some people experience uncomplicated grief, which is a natural emotional reaction when faced with loss. Others may experience more complex forms that a mental health professional may be able to help with moving through.

Bereavement specialist Terri Daniel explains that many types of grief do not involve death, including estrangement, financial loss, worldly loss, illness, injury, relinquishment, and institutional loss. People may also experience cumulative grief when the loss of a loved one occurs around the same time as any of these situations.

Grief is a natural, normal response to a loss. Within these responses, experts have categorized several distinct types of grief and terminology that may help with understanding and processing these difficult feelings.

Anticipatory grief

Anticipatory grief happens before a loss and is often tied to a terminal illness diagnosis or aging. People going through it are often grieving while caring for a loved one who is still alive. To outsiders, it may be difficult to understand because the person experiencing the grief is mourning someone who hasn’t yet passed.

According to the National Cancer Institute, anticipatory grief may cause distress to both patients and the people within their social communities. It's different from the grief that follows the actual loss of a loved one, which may have its own set of symptoms. 

Complicated grief

Complicated grief is defined as grief that continues to disrupt a person’s daily life for longer than expected. This grief comes with ongoing, intense emotional symptoms, such as strong longing for the one who has passed, deep sadness, and persistent yearning. 

Though there is no set timeline for grief, someone who keeps experiencing these symptoms may feel unable to cope with their loss and can’t carry on with daily life normally. Complicated grief may overlap with prolonged grief disorder (PGD), which is intense grief that lasts for a year or more in adults and six months in children. 

Collective grief

Collective grief is shared by a group or community after a widespread loss that affects the group. This could be after a natural disaster that results in loss of life or damage, or after a public tragedy that is felt by the community. Think of the way that New York City grieved and came together after September 11, or the reactions after the losses of public figures such as JFK or Queen Elizabeth, or following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Disenfranchised grief

Disenfranchised grief is that which isn’t publicly acknowledged or may not be supported within one’s social group. Possible examples include the loss of a pet or a friendship, or an estrangement from family or another social relationship. There might not be a loss of human life, but grief and sadness are still present. 

As a result, some people may experience masked grief. This is grief that manifests not as emotional reactions but as physical symptoms, such as fatigue, digestive problems, or aches and pains that have no other cause. 

Sometimes the person experiencing masked grief doesn’t make the connection between their physical symptoms and the loss they suffered. This may also be a form of distorted grief, when grief is suppressed or expressed through unusual symptoms.

Traumatic grief

Traumatic grief occurs when a loss is sudden, unexpected, or violent. Because of the nature of the loss, people who experience this type of grief may have a combination of grief reactions and trauma responses. The traumatic events may even inhibit or cause delayed grief, as the trauma response may come first.  

Chronic grief

Chronic grief, also referred to as prolonged grief, is a part of prolonged grief disorder. This kind of grief makes it feel like it’s impossible to move forward, as every day the loss feels fresh and like it just happened. 

People who are experiencing prolonged grief may benefit from seeking professional mental health help. According to BetterHelp research, millennials in particular see the value in therapy. In fact, 40% have returned to therapy after taking a break because they see it as a useful tool in their lives. 

Absent grief

People who experience absent grief show little or no outward emotion after a loss. But even if they don’t or can’t express it, that doesn’t mean that they don’t feel the loss. In some cases, the brain blocks someone's ability to feel the full effects of the loss as a way to deal with the overwhelming grief and pain that comes with it.

Is there a normal way to grieve?

Grief looks different for everyone and is shaped by the closeness of the relationship, type of loss, and support around you. There is no set timeline for moving through the grieving process.

The Kübler-Ross model is a well-known reference point for dealing with grief, though not a rule. It outlines five stages of grief:

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance 

But some grief reactions may not cleanly map to this model and may present in unexpected ways, including masked or distorted grief. Grief doesn’t always manifest as visible or obvious sadness, so it may sometimes be hard to identify from the outside. Instead of appearing sad or bereft, people may show symptoms of grief such as irritability, headaches, stomachaches, or physical pain. 

What is prolonged grief disorder?

PGD involves persistent grief responses that differ from a person's general grief journey. The DSM-5 Text Revision added this diagnosis in March 2022. 

People experiencing PGD often have a deep yearning for their loved one and may wake up not believing that they’re gone, or can’t believe the loss happened. It is not the same as normal grief, as the symptoms are deep and people may need professional support to move forward. 

How can you cope with grief and when might support help?

Grief may involve intense emotional symptoms as well as physical symptoms such as inability to sleep, fatigue, or physical pain. To cope, many people find that it helps to lean on a support system while trying to maintain a normal routine and allowing the emotions to come. 

When even the smallest steps feel difficult, online therapy can make it easier to get started. With BetterHelp, you can connect with a licensed therapist from home or another safe space, on a schedule that works for you. BetterHelp accepts insurance for online therapy through major insurance plans, with members paying an average of $23 per session. 

Insurance availability, coverage, and cost may vary by state, plan, provider network, therapist availability, and deductible status.