Grief is a natural, emotional response of a human although it may vary in intensity from one human to another. Usually, a person may experience grief if he or she loses a loved-one or mourning for the death of someone very close to their heart. In some instances, grief presents itself in unusual situations too, like when you are annoyed or frustrated. Like I said earlier, it just varies in intensity and grieving time—all depends on how you, as a person, handle grief.
However, in seniors, grief is an altogether different feeling or set of emotions. Usually, bereavement is only a catalyst—a breaking point—of each and every lose we have had in the past. Failed relationships, dreams unfulfilled, even your deteriorating health. Considering all these, grief is more powerful in seniors, more real, making it harder for seniors to deal with and for people around them to understand.
Grief has two sets of symptoms, one would be physical and the other, mental or emotional. Physical symptoms of grief in seniors are easier to detect since it can be seen and observed by the naked eye. You would know if a senior is suffering from grief if he or she demonstrates the following, except of course if there is an existing illness which can be held liable for these symptoms:
•    Weight loss
•    Loss of appetite
•    Fatigue
•    Chest pains
•    Abdominal pain
•    Headaches
•    Sleeping problems
•    Nausea
Emotional symptoms of grief in seniors, on the other hand, are:
•    Anxiety
•    Sense of guilt
•    Anger
•    Absent-mindedness
•    Overwhelming sadness
Seniors and caregivers should take note that the best remedy for grief is to give it some time. Accepting it and learning how to deal with it would be the best thing to do while waiting for time to do its job. Generally, grief has stages, although you may find yourself going back and forth stages. Don’t let it scare you though, it doesn’t mean you are not moving forward or not making any progress at all. Just as long as you recognize grief, you are doing just fine. These stages are:
•    Denial
•    Anger
•    Bargaining
•    Depression
•    Acceptance
It is important that you go through each stage. At some point in time, you may find yourself too close to accepting the loss, only to realize that you are really bargaining for something impossible. Dealing with a loss can be hard, especially if the sufferer is resistant to any form of help. Don’t get offended if a grieving friend refuses your help, the more they refuse it, the more they need it, only they are not ready for it. If you find yourself in a situation like this, just stay within an arm’s length, respecting the grieving senior’s privacy but never really too far away if he or she needs help.