ABSTRACT
An excellent starting point in attempting to provide a framework for the increased understanding of one's helping role is to simply make some semantic distinctions in these commonly used terms. Bereavement is a state caused by loss such as death. Numerous types of losses can bring about a state of bereavement. Mourning is the outward expression of grief and bereavement. The mourning behavior exhibited may or may not be in agreement with true feelings of the bereaved; however, they may incur disapproval if they do not follow the prescribed social customs. Grief is the internal meaning given to the external event. Grief work is the activity associated with thinking through the loss, facing its reality, expressing the feelings and emotions experienced, and becoming reinvolved with life. Now that the preceding terms have been defined in a more formal sense, let's take a moment to acknowledge that grief is a much more personal experience than their words describe.
