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Politics, it has been said, is the art of the possible. One aspect of possibility when it comes to politics that is starting to receive the attention it deserves is the potential for political events, processes, or ideologies to give rise to grief, and grief of major proportions. This is what is increasingly being referred to as political grief (Thompson et al., 2025). You might feel it after an election result that dismays you. You might experience it when a government makes a policy decision that conflicts with your deepest values. You might carry it through social media arguments with friends who hold opposing views. It is now beginning to be established as a highly significant emotional and psychological phenomenon affecting millions of people worldwide.

Political grief is not like other forms of loss. You haven’t lost a loved one to death. Instead, you’ve experienced the shattering of something fundamental to how you understand the world and your place in it. Harris (2022) describes this as the breakdown of our ‘assumptive world’ – the beliefs and assumptions we rely on to make sense of our lives.

When political events contradict what we thought was true about justice, fairness, safety or belonging, we grieve. 

Why this matters

Political grief manifests itself in ways we don’t necessarily recognise as grief at all. A major part of my work over the years has been highlighting the need to more fully recognise the significance of losses unconnected with death – moving away from the idea that grief is our reaction to death, rather than to any major loss regardless of whether bereavement is involved (Harris, 2020). But political grief takes us a step further, to the idea that we can be grieving without recognising that we have experienced a loss (even though the losses may actually be quite profound and far reaching). 

You may feel anxious when you read or watch the news. You may experience a deep sense of hopelessness about the future and/or notice yourself withdrawing from relationships with people whose views of what is politically acceptable are different from yours. You may find it hard to concentrate or to sleep at night. What makes political grief particularly challenging is the lack of acknowledgement. When you grieve the death of a loved one, people acknowledge your pain. When you grieve lost values or a vision of the future that has been dismantled, you may feel isolated and unheard. This ‘disenfranchised’ grief – grief that isn’t socially recognised or validated – can intensify your emotional distress (Doka, 2001).

The personal and the political

What is important to understand is that grief originating from political sources is deeply personal.

When a government decision affects your access to healthcare, education or legal rights, the political becomes intimate. When the actions of politicians mean that people like you face discrimination or marginalisation, the public becomes private. Your individual pain is rooted in sociopolitical decisions made by those in power.

Significant political events can trigger genuine psychological problems. Mental health professionals report increased rates of anxiety, depression and distress at times of political significance (Kumar, 2021). The grief is real. The experience is valid.

Coming together in grief

One of the most troubling consequences of widespread political grief is polarisation. When we are grieving, we tend to retreat to those who share our worldview. We surround ourselves with people who validate our pain and justify our anger. This can create deeper divides within families, communities and workplaces.

Political grief, while painful, can become a bridge as well as a barrier.

Yet here lies an opportunity. Political grief, while painful, can become a bridge as well as a barrier.  When we recognise that people across the political spectrum are grieving – even if they grieve different losses – we can begin to see our common humanity. The person whose grief focuses on lost tradition and the person who grieves lost progress are both experiencing real loss. Understanding this doesn’t mean we have to agree with them, but it can transform anger into compassion.

Moving forward

The feelings involved in political grief are just as legitimate as in any other loss. It can therefore be important to seek out opportunities for meaningful conversation across differences where possible. Political grief is not weakness. It’s evidence that we care deeply about our world and our place in it. In recognising and processing this grief, we create the possibility for healing and connection, although at times this can seem a forlorn hope.