(New York Times) – Sudden surges of anguish can accompany intense mourning. That’s not unusual, experts say, and sometimes even helpful.

She would feel unexpectedly tense up, her heart racing as a wave of emotions washed over her. “Nobody could have prepared me for this feeling of extreme anxiousness,” said Ms. Griffin, who lives in Arizona.

She was having what some researchers call a “grief attack,” a term that has been used for years to describe a sudden surge of overwhelming anguish rooted in grief. It has other names as well: pangs of grief, grief spasms or loss-related panic, to list a few. While the phenomenon is familiar to therapists and many who have lost a loved one, grief experts are now studying the specific symptoms and circumstances associated with grief attacks and attempting to rate their severity, which can range from uncomfortable to debilitating. (Read More)