Disenfranchised Grief

When society says you shouldn’t mourn.

If you’ve ever been discounted or misunderstood for mourning a loss, you’ve experienced disenfranchised grief. It happens when your pain is not acknowledged or validated by society. This leads people to feel like their grieving is insignificant.

The mourning process is hard enough without piling isolation on top of it.

What is Discounted or Disenfranchised Grief?

Some examples include mourning the loss of a(n):

• Ex-spouse or former partner

• Job

• Beloved artist you’ve never met

• House or other form of property

• Way of life

• Pet

• Loved one due to suicide or overdose, where stigma leads to diminished support

• Partner in a non-traditional relationship, such as those within LGBTQ+ or polyamorous communities

For centuries, and in some communities even today, this extends to pregnancy loss. Anyone facing disenfranchised grief often has to deal with challenges when expressing their emotions.

Grief Is Never Easy – Judgments Make It Worse

People experiencing disenfranchised grief receive limited social support. We …