Discuss the emotional state of grief.

Answers will vary. The death of a close friend or family member can be a traumatic experience. It typically leads to a state of bereavement, an emotional state of longing and deprivation that is characterized by feelings of grief and a deep sense of loss. Mourning is synonymous with grief over the death of a person, but also describes culturally prescribed ways of displaying grief. There is neither one right way to grieve nor a fixed period of time for which grief should last. In some cases, especially for parents who have lost a child, grief never ends, although it does tend to lessen over time. People grieve in different ways. Some grieve more publicly, while others reveal their feelings only in private. You may not always know when someone is grieving. Grief usually involves a combination of emotions, especially depression, loneliness, feelings of emptiness, disbelief and numbness, apprehension about the future ("What will I do now?"), guilt ("I could have done something"), even anger ("They could have handled this better"). Grief may also be punctuated by relief that the deceased person is no longer suffering intense pain and by a heightened awareness of one's own mortality. Grief may also compromise the immune system, leaving the person more vulnerable to disease. Researchers also find that the death of a loved one puts one at greater risk of committing suicide, especially during the first week following the loss.