As a therapist, I’ve sat with many people navigating the painful terrain of grief. It’s one of the most human experiences we share—and yet, it often feels isolating, confusing, and unpredictable. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a pet, or even a hoped-for future, grief can touch every corner of our lives.

There’s no “right” way to grieve. But there are common emotional threads that weave through the process. Today, I want to talk about three of them: sadness, anger, and loneliness. If you’re grieving and feel any of these, you’re not doing it wrong—you’re simply being human.

1. Sadness: The Heartache of Missing What We Loved

Sadness is often the first thing we associate with grief—and for good reason. When we lose something meaningful, it hurts. This sadness can show up in tears, fatigue, numbness, or a heavy feeling in the chest.

What I often tell clients is this: Sadness is not a problem to be fixed. It’s a signal of something important to us that’s been lost. Letting yourself feel sad is not only okay—it’s necessary. Trying to push it away often only makes it come out sideways.

Instead, give yourself permission to feel. Cry if you need to. Be still. Honor what (or who) you’ve lost. There’s healing in allowing your sadness to breathe openly.

2. Anger: The Protest Against

Grief doesn’t always look like crying. Sometimes it looks like yelling in the car, snapping at loved ones, or feeling furious with the world. This is anger, and it’s a common—and often misunderstood—part of grieving.

Anger in grief is often a protest: “This shouldn’t have happened.” It’s the mind and heart rebelling against reality, searching for something or someone to blame. You may feel angry at the person you lost, at doctors, at God, or at yourself.

Here’s what I want you to know: anger is not wrong. It’s not shameful. It’s a normal part of grief. Try not to judge it—instead, get curious about it. What is your anger protecting? What is it trying to say? Sometimes beneath the fire is deep, aching pain.

3. Loneliness: The Empty Space They Leave Behind

Grief can be deeply isolating. Even when you’re surrounded by others, you may feel alone—like no one really understands what you’re going through. The person you lost may have been your confidant, your daily text, your comfort. Their absence creates a silence that echoes.

Loneliness in grief is not just about missing someone—it’s about the disruption of connection, routine, meaning, and even our self. And because our culture often rushes people to “move on,” the lonely parts of grief can last longer than we expect.

If you’re feeling this, know that you’re not broken. And you don’t have to do it alone. Talking to a friend, joining a support group, or seeking therapy can help create a bridge across that loneliness. You are allowed to reach out and others who have experienced deep grief will understand what you need.

Grief Has No Timeline

If you take one thing from this post, let it be this: grief is not a checklist or a timeline. It’s a process—and it’s your process to experience. Sadness, anger, and loneliness are not obstacles to overcome; they are part of the path through. As much as some of us may desperately want for it to be a timeline that we can check off, each of us is different in our needs in grief and that takes time.

Be gentle with yourself. Be patient. And know that healing doesn’t mean forgetting—it means learning to carry the love and the loss together.

If you are finding yourself experiencing grief, therapy can be a great space to express, and wrestle with, that love that doesn’t have anywhere to go anymore. What we lost mattered and it is important to honor that within yourself to learn to keep going on. Don’t hesitate to reach out.