Is it normal i feel kind of 'nothing' about hearing my uncle passed

It's not like I feel literally 'nothing' of course. I'm obviously very saddened by his death, and I'll miss him dearly. But somehow, I don't feel like crying, I don't feel depressed, I don't feel overcome with emotion, I just feel normal. All I can think is 'it sucks, but this happens, it's life'. I'm aware that the sadness may often come later. But I don't know, I feel this isn't a normal reaction... I feel like I can move on with my day perfectly fine. I haven't had a death in the family since I was a kid too young to remember well. So I haven't really experienced how I 'react' to a family death. I feel like I should be reacting differently, but I just feel calm and collected. I'm not happy he's gone, but there's no overbearing sadness, more just like 'that sucks'. I've always thought of death as a natural part of life, and something we must come to accept and expect. That lingering on it isn't necessary or constructive. I thought when it came to an actual death I would not be able to stick to that mentality, but I still feel the same.

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Comments ( 6 )
  • Boojum

    I think you have a very healthy attitude toward death.

    How you feel isn't wrong, it's just due to your life experiences to this point, your relationship with your uncle, and where you are in your life today. Others may deal with your uncle's death very differently, and that's okay too.

    Some cultures have very strict rules about how the death of a relative should be responded to, but that's not the case in modern Western societies. You should be free to respond to your uncle's death in your own way without pressure from your relatives to react differently, and you should allow anyone who has been hit harder by his death to do their grieving in their own way.

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    • Thanks, I mean, I guess I know all of this. It just felt wrong in some way. Even when I tried to think and imagine the two sons who were left with no father because of this tragedy, I still didn't feel particularly overcome with sadness. I thought it was sad in my mind obviously, but I didn't react much emotionally. I guess for a second I was worried I lacked empathy or something😅. I guess I've never been the person to react strongly with emotion in the face of either bad or good news. I remember in high-school when I got top grade on one of my exams, I wasn't really overjoyed or anything, I was just like 'that's cool'. I suppose it's just a part of who I am, and I shouldn't be worried about it. It's not like I lack emotions or anything, they just don't easily overwhelm me. I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing. Thanks for helping me clear my concerns

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  • RosaBella612

    Everyone has a different way of grieving

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  • RoseIsabella

    When my maternal grandfather died about thirteen years ago I didn't start to really grieve and feel bad for a couple of weeks.

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  • Annie25

    Totally normal

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  • libertybell

    It sounds like perhaps you weren't very close to your uncle. That's probably why you're not too upset.

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