Grief is not just emotional. It lives in the body. Many people who are grieving a pet experience physical symptoms that are real and worth taking seriously: fatigue, headaches, chest tightness, a heaviness that makes everything feel like effort. The stress hormones that accompany loss are not abstract — they affect your immune system, your sleep, your digestion, your ability to focus.

This is not weakness. This is biology.

A few things that matter more than you think right now:

• Eating. Eat something, even when food seems beside the point. Your body needs it.

• Sleep. Try to sleep at your normal time, even if sleep is elusive. Rest is still rest.

• Drugs and/or Alcohol. These things can feel like relief in the moment but significantly disrupts grief processing. Be mindful of how much you’re leaning on it.

• Distraction. Distraction has its place — a movie, a book, a task that requires your hands — but try not to bury yourself in it entirely. Grief that isn’t felt tends to resurface.

• Movement. Move your body, even gently. A walk, even a short one, can shift something.

• Connection. Let people be there for you, even if you have to tell them how.