Question

Explain three ways that grieving experiences may differ among individuals.

Answer 1

A person's grieving experience may differ from others in expression, intensity, and length. One can hide grief or express grief openly to others. One may feel intense sorrow and loss during the grieving process, while others experience less intense feelings. The intensity of feelings may be influenced by one’s beliefs about death. Someone may also grieve for longer periods of time, while others overcome their grief in a shorter amount of time.

Answer 2

Each individual experiences grief in a distinct manner. Usually, a person experiences grief in cycles or waves. This means that there is the duration of painful and intense feelings, which come and go.  

There are certain factors or ways by which an individual experiences grief. These are:  

1. The association of a grieving person had with the person whose death had taken place.  

2. The reason of death, that is, the process of grieving may differ on the basis of whether the person death has taken place suddenly or whether the person was ill for a longer time period.  

3. Even the grieving experience is shaped by the individual's culture and society. Every culture has its own array of rituals or beliefs for bereavement and death. This also influences that how the individual encounters and experience grief.