Grief is not just depression.

Grief can be defined as “deep distress caused by bereavement or loss.” This distress might derive from the death of a loved one or a favorite animal companion. But it can also be caused by the end of anything of significance in which one is invested — a relationship, a job, even something abstract like a sense of home. The pain can present as sorrow or sadness, but also all manner of other disparate emotions including guilt and anger. There may be other attendant symptoms like isolation, loneliness, and a loss of pleasure. But for many people grief is characterized more than anything by a sense of complexity and ambiguity.

There are many effective and evidence-based approaches for working on grief. But there is no one way to grieve, and no “solution-focused” therapy to speed the process. It takes time, patience, and a continued sense of connection to other people. Confronting the fact of our mortality is one of the most fundamental developmental tasks we face as human beings. Engaging in a meaningful way with the idea of impermanence is a profound exercise and one which can yield real benefits.