The time spent in a period of bereavement depends on how attached the person was to the person who died, and how much time was spent anticipating the loss. Grief is the normal process of reacting to the loss. Each type of loss means the person has had something taken away. As a family goes through a cancer illness, many losses are experienced, and each triggers its own grief reaction. Grief may be experienced as a mental, physical, social, or emotional reaction.
Mental reactions can include anger, guilt, anxiety, sadness, and despair.
Physical reactions can include sleeping problems, changes in appetite, physical problems, or illness. Social reactions can include feelings about taking care of others in the family, seeing family or friends, or returning to work. As with bereavement, grief processes depend on the relationship with the person who died, the situation surrounding the death, and the person's attachment to the person who died. Grief may be described as the presence of physical problems, constant thoughts of the person who died, guilt, hostility, and a change in the way one normally acts. Mourning consists of the conscious, unconscious, and cultural reactions to loss.