One sign that professional help may be warranted is if the survivor continues to experience frequent or severe trauma symptoms, as described above, for more than a few months after the death. This is especially true if these symptoms are interfering with other parts of normal life such as relationships, work, or leisure activity. The immune system and the cardiovascular system may be affected by grief, so it is important for survivors to eat well and to stay in contact with their primary physician, so that any chronic health problems, such as heart disease can be monitored. Survivors are prone to other sorts of mishaps, such as automobile accidents, because they are often preoccupied by their grief. It may be unwise to make major decisions during the first several months after a loss since they may bring on additional stress.
Most experts recommend that survivors try to confide in someone about the loss.
This can be a friend, a clergy person, or another person who has experienced a similar loss. It may take some trial and error to identify friends who can be good listeners. Some survivors withdraw from social contact because of the possibility of such hurtful comments. This is unfortunate, because it cuts people off from interactions that could be healing. Grieving is a difficult process because it involves remembering what happened.