Grief & bereavement
Common Myths About Grief & Bereavement
Grief is deeply personal, yet people who are grieving are often surrounded by expectations about what they should feel, how long grief should last, and when they should be ready to move forward. Challenging these common myths can create more room for grief to be experienced without judgment.
There is no single correct way to grieve. Loss can affect emotions, relationships, identity, routines, and a person’s sense of what life looks like now.
Six common misconceptions
Making more room for the reality of grief.
These myths can create unnecessary pressure during an already difficult experience. Each one simplifies something that is often much more individual and complex.
Myth There is a time limit to grieving
A more helpful perspective
Grief does not follow a deadline. The passing of the first year does not mean that loss suddenly becomes easier or that someone should be finished grieving. Anniversaries, milestones, memories, and changes in daily life can continue to bring grief forward long after a loss. The experience can change over time, but there is no universal schedule for when grief should end.
Myth The most common feeling associated with grief is sadness
A more helpful perspective
Sadness can be part of grief, but it is only one possible response. Grief may also include anger, guilt, numbness, anxiety, relief, confusion, tenderness, gratitude, or even moments of joy. Several emotions can exist at the same time, and having an emotion that seems unexpected does not make the loss less meaningful.
Myth Someone knows exactly what you are feeling if they have also experienced loss
A more helpful perspective
Shared experience can create empathy, but no two losses are exactly alike. The relationship, circumstances of the loss, personal history, support system, culture, and many other factors shape how grief is experienced. Someone may understand aspects of loss without knowing precisely what another person is feeling.
Myth Grief is linear
A more helpful perspective
Grief does not move neatly from one emotion or stage to the next. A person may feel relatively steady one day and overwhelmed the next, or move in and out of sadness, anger, relief, connection, and ordinary moments of daily life. Grief can shift and return rather than progressing along a predictable straight line.
Myth It is better to just 'move on'
A more helpful perspective
Pressure to move on often reflects society’s discomfort with grief more than the needs of the person who is grieving. Processing a loss can involve remembering, talking, feeling, adapting, and finding ways to carry what mattered forward. Healing does not require erasing the relationship, experience, or significance of what was lost.
Myth Grief only occurs following the death of a loved one
A more helpful perspective
Grief can follow many kinds of loss. The end of a relationship or marriage, divorce, the death of a pet, illness, changes in health or ability, and other major life transitions can all involve meaningful grief. A loss does not have to involve a death for its emotional impact to be real.
A gentler understanding of grief
Grief does not need to fit someone else’s timeline or definition.
Therapy can offer space to make sense of what has happened, honour what has been lost, and learn to live alongside change without pressure to simply move on.
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