Grief Attacks Combine Panic and Yearning, Distinct From Standard Grief and Panic Attacks

Psychologist Sherman Lee experienced a "grief attack" while driving, sobbing so violently he had to pull over. He co-published a study of nearly 250 people who had such attacks, identifying four main characteristics: panic, yearning, despair, and incoherent thinking. Grief attacks differ from standard grief by including physical symptoms at sudden intensity, and from panic attacks by combining fear-system symptoms like sweating with attachment-system symptoms like yearning.

Lee notes grief can manifest biologically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually, citing a study where 50 percent of 10,000 mourners sensed a presence and one-third heard a voice. Therese Rando explored the concept in 1991 as sudden upsurges of grief. Lee believes the condition is relatively common and scientifically treatable.