Grief is not a mental illness
Grief is a human response to loss
And yet, we live in a world that constantly tries to pathologize it. To label it. To fix it. To quiet it.
But grief isn’t a disorder.
It’s not a chemical imbalance.
It’s not a personal failure.
It’s not a personality trait gone wrong.
It’s pain. Real, physical, emotional pain — triggered by something real.
When sadness looks like something else
Many grievers show signs of what could look like depression: lack of motivation, changes in sleep or appetite, disconnection, mental fog.
Others experience symptoms that resemble anxiety or even PTSD: heart palpitations, tightness in the chest, hypervigilance, emotional numbness.
Some even start to think they have ADHD — because they can’t focus, can’t finish anything, or feel like their brain is scrambled.
But here’s the thing: grief can look like all of these…
without being any of them.
When we mislabel Grief, we Mistreat it
Too often, someone in pain is told:
"You're depressed. You need meds."
"You’re not yourself — maybe it’s trauma."
"This sounds like anxiety. Here’s something to help you calm down."
Sometimes, medication is necessary.
But sometimes, what’s being treated isn’t the illness — it’s the grief.
And you can’t medicate your way through something that needs to be felt.
Because misdiagnosing grief doesn’t just delay healing — it blocks it.
It teaches you to suppress, manage, or numb what’s actually asking to be witnessed..
Grief needs space, not suppression
Grief isn’t something to “get rid of.”
It’s something to move through — slowly, honestly, at your own pace.
Calling it depression or PTSD might feel clinical, even comforting. A box you can name. A prescription you can take.
But grief doesn’t follow a diagnostic manual.
It follows the heart.
And no two hearts grieve the same.
You’re not broken — you’re grieving
There is nothing wrong with you for feeling what you feel.
You’re not unstable. You’re not sick.
You’re not mentally ill for missing someone so deeply it changes your body.
You’re grieving. And that’s human.
The more we name grief for what it is, the less shame we carry.
And the more space we make for actual healing — not hiding.
🧘♀️ What You Can Do
If you’ve been feeling lost, tired, or physically off — and no one has given you answers that feel right — it might be time to look at grief differently.
Take the Grief Impact Quotient (G.I.Q.) Quiz — a certified body-based tool to help you identify how grief is showing up in your system.
Find out what type of Grief Body you are, and what your body might be asking for — silently.
It’s not a diagnosis. It’s a mirror.
And sometimes, that’s all we need to finally begin.
Still grieving. Just Stronger.
I’m Rita, and I created Beyond after losing someone I loved deeply — and realizing my body was falling apart.
.. Doctors offered pills. Friends offered clichés.
.. But I needed something else.
So I studied the link between grief and the body — and I built this space to share everything I learned.
