If you’re living in the same household with other people or in a romantic relationship, repressing grief can be hard. Talking with a friend or relative might not be enough to cope.
Some people experience what is called incomplete grief. They might become more irritable, withdrawn, angry, or disconnected from their loved ones because they have pushed the staggering feelings away to keep going on with life.
Pushing your feelings to the edge of your mind and moving on, but not really moving on, can be detrimental to your health. You can experience effects months and years later that affect your most intimate relationships, including nightmares, fears, and sudden outbursts of anger that no one understands, and these effects might occur because you don’t address grief. How you respond to people when something traumatic happens, such as getting in an accident or having an argument, might become way out of proportion for the situation. You can’t afford to postpone grief therapy because you don’t want to hurt yourself or others around you with this sudden volatility due to intense emotions.