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Grieving may follow any major loss and is generally easy to recognize. Most people who are grieving do not seek or require professional help. When help is needed, an evaluation by a physician or mental health professional may be used to rule out other conditions.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, about 25 percent to 35 percent of people develop major depression after a major loss. Although grief may progress into major depression, it should not be confused with this serious mood disorder. Grief is a healthy, adaptive process, whereas major depression is a pathological condition that needs to be treated. Depressed people tend to focus on themselves and their role in the loss. Grieving people tend to focus more on what was lost.

There are several symptoms of depression that do not typically occur in normal grief. When these are noted in people who have experienced a major loss, a psychiatric evaluation may be recommended. These include:

• Suicidality. Grieving people may have a passive wish to “join” the deceased loved one, but do not normally dwell on the concept of their own death or exhibit suicidal behavior.
  
  
• Psychosis. People who are grieving may see reminders of their loss in many places, but do not normally develop hallucinations or delusions involving the loss.
  
  
• Severe loss of self-esteem or functionality. Grief is often accompanied by some degree of functional impairment or feelings of reduced self-worth, but these are not normally severe.
  
  
• Psychomotor retardation. Significant slowing down of thought processes or physical activity do not tend to occur in normal grief.