What Does Grief Feel Like?

Marina Mails, NCC, LPC
Bereavement Counselor II

This poem, “Falling Apart” by Eloise Cole, gives a heart-felt description of what grief feels like for many who have recently lost a loved one. We hope that reading her words might make you feel normal during this time of grief. Know that you are part of a community of grieving people, many of whom are feeling fragile, tearful, confused and disoriented.

“Falling Apart”

I seem to be falling apart.
My attention span can be measured in seconds,
My patience in minutes,
I cry at the drop of a hat
I forget things constantly
The morning toast burns daily.
I forget to sign checks; half of everything in the house is misplaced.
Feelings of anxiety and restlessness are my constant companions.
Rainy days seem extra dreary
Sunny days seem an outrage,
Other people’s pain and frustrations seem insignificant.
Laughing, happy people seem out of place in my world.
It has become routine to feel half crazy.
“I am normal,” I am told.
“I am a newly grieving person.”

— Eloise Cole