Does the intensity and duration of grief depend on what that loss meant to you and your relationship to it? Certainly! But it’s nearly impossible to not be impacted by grief unless we are talking about a mental pathology that stops the person from feeling the feelings.

• Grief is depleting on a cellular level and lowers energy.

• Grief can be demotivating.

• Grief can stress you out about your finances.

• Grief can make you worry about your family.

• Grief can create confusion and enhance forgetfulness.

• Grief can lead to anxiety or depression.

• Grief can impact your sleeping habits.

• Grief can change your appetite.

• Grief can make you vulnerable to injuries.

• Grief can increase chances of illnesses and lower immunity.

But grief, like everything else, can also be a source of motivation. I say this from experience: ends can become our motivation to create new beginnings if we remain patient, intentional, and compassionate. But ends can also become a source of life-altering chaos if we rush into making changes.

As an Ayurvedic Doctor, wellness columnist, and health speaker ... I remind people toavoid making any big decisions when the grief is new and raw. We tend to approach it from a place of reaction (lack clarity) as opposed to response (informed decision) andmight regret our decision later.

Acknowledge it. Pay attention to it. Tend to it. Don’t rush it or judge it. Work on it. Don’t apologize for it. Hold space for it. Continue to heal yourself. There might be the desire to fill up every second with busyness, so you don’t have to deal with the reality of loss. Or some people might not find the motivation to shower and move their bodies or keep a job because the heaviness of grief holds them prisoner.