The Body

It is actually possible to become physically ill after losing a loved one. Your immune systems becomes substantially weaker and you're at great risk for infection. You can even develop something called "broken heart syndrome" where the muscles of the heart actually change and your blood pressure increases causing a form of heart disease. This is obviously a very large scale result of what might happen while grieving.

Some of the more common and smaller effects include a loss in appetite or eating too much. You may become easily irritated and sensitive to touch. The body puts you in a slump very effortlessly. Physical issues including stomach pain, intestinal upsets, and loss of energy can all be symptoms of acute grief. The mourning process will seriously test your natural defense system.

Grief can also worsen preexisting medical conditions you may have. Overall, you will become significantly weaker, at least initially.

Grief has an effect on every bodily function: appetite, digestion, blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, muscle function, and sleep. There is even an inability at times to see the world in color as if there was a filter between us and our surroundings, as if we were wrapped in cotton and everything reached us in a muffled way.