Fatigue and Grief
After funerals at funeral homes in funeral home in Tallahassee, FL, you will probably be most aware of the emotional and mental symptoms that the grieving process produces. You may spontaneously cry over big and little things that remind you of the loved one you have lost. You may alternate between feelings of intense sadness at losing your loved one and happiness when you remember good times, special occasions, or things about them that were special to you.
You will ride this emotional rollercoaster, which sometimes will make absolutely no sense and will make you feel as though you might be just a little bit off your rocker, for quite some time after your loved one’s death.
The mental symptoms of grief over the death of a loved one are as pronounced, especially early in the grieving process. You will feel as if you’re mentally hazy and you will experience memory problems and attention problems because your mind is preoccupied with grieving instead of the business of daily living.
This subsides as the grief process progresses, but it can be quite unsettling to experience at the beginning. This is why it is a good idea to have someone who can think objectively and clearly at your side during the initial days after the death of your loved one. This is also why the advice is given to not make any major decisions in the first year after a loved one has died.
But grief also has physical symptoms. Some of these are not serious and go away with time, but others can lead to severe health problems – or even death – later on.
One of the physical symptoms of grief is unrelenting fatigue. Part of this can be attributed to disturbed sleep patterns after you lose a loved one. You may find yourself unable to sleep for more than a couple of hours before waking up. You may sleep fitfully, never descending into any periods of deep sleep.
You may find it almost impossible to sleep because your mind is racing, and you can’t shut it off. Often this non-stop thought process alternates between memories of your loved one, things you have to do now that your loved one has died, and the unknown future of your life without your loved one. In addition, there may be regrets interspersed that you can’t do anything about now that your loved one is gone, but you can’t find a way to make peace with them and let them go.
If you’re not sleeping well or at all, you will be tired all the time. This can lead to serious problems. You’re more likely to have accidents when you are fatigued. These might be accidents that occur while you’re driving or while you are working. There is a good possibility that these accidents will be severe or, possibly, even fatal.
Another problem that arises with sleep deprivation is a higher incidence of making mistakes or using bad judgment. While many mistakes may be minor and easily corrected, some of these mistakes can be quite serious and lead to disastrous problems. Bad judgment works the same way. Sometimes using bad judgment leads to a little discomfort or embarrassment, but other times, it can cause you significant trouble for a long time, if not for the rest of your life.
Sleep deprivation and fatigue also increases your risk for developing dementia later in life. Cleaning out toxins in the brain – a significant contributor to dementia development – is one of the functions that happens during sleep. This function can’t be done when we’re awake because it requires too much energy. Sleep provides the right environment for this high-energy cleansing to take place.
If you want to know more the impact of grief after funerals at funeral home in Tallahassee, FL, our compassionate and experienced staff at Lifesong Funerals & Cremations can help.
