--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bereavement seemed to work on him as a…" description: "\"“Bereavement seemed to work on him as a kind of blanket allergy, making him edgy and irritable to all the outside world. And of course it was reciproca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/peter-pouncey-53883_bereavement_bereavement-seemed-to-work-on-him-as-a-k_2332281.jpg" --- # Bereavement seemed to work on him as a kind of blanket… ![“Bereavement seemed to work on him as a kind of blanket allergy, making him edgy and irritable to all the outside world. And of course it was reciprocal; the world receded on him.” quote by Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/peter-pouncey-53883_bereavement_bereavement-seemed-to-work-on-him-as-a-k_2332281.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/peter-pouncey-53883_bereavement_bereavement-seemed-to-work-on-him-as-a-k_2332281.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/peter-pouncey-53883_bereavement_bereavement-seemed-to-work-on-him-as-a-k_2332281.jpg) > ““Bereavement seemed to work on him as a kind of blanket allergy, making him edgy and irritable to all the outside world. And of course it was reciprocal; the world receded on him.”” [Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grief can act like an allergy, making one irritable and causing reciprocal withdrawal from the world. **In simple terms:** Grief makes you irritable and withdrawn. Key Takeaway Allow space for grief while staying connected. Themes grief irritability withdrawal Mood somber reflective Type psychological observational When to use this quote - therapy - family gatherings - workplace Key Concepts psychology health relationships Questions to Reflect On - How does grief affect your interactions? - Can you find growth through loss? A Different Perspective Grief may also foster deeper empathy over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bereavement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bereavement/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Mourning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mourning/) [Outside world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outside-world/) ## Related quotes > [“Hour by hour, the outside world receded further into the realm of things forgotten and unregretted while time itself seemed to hang motionless in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-ryley/hour-by-hour-the-outside-world-receded-further-into-the-realm-of/) Stella Ryley > [What we call mourning for our dead is perhaps not so much grief at not being able to call them back; as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/what-we-call-mourning-for-our-dead-is-perhaps-not-so-much-grief-at/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/give-sorrow-words-the-grief-that-does-not-speak-knits-up-the-o-er/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-this-sad-world-of-ours-sorrow-comes-to-all-and-to-the-young-it-2/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Sorrow makes us all children again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/sorrow-makes-us-all-children-again/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“When my late father died — now I'm in mourning for my late mother — that sense of grief and bereavement suddenly taught me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/when-my-late-father-died-now-i-m-in-mourning-for-my-late-mother-that/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [“The light in that room was a glow; I seem to remember the color green, or perhaps flowers. A pale green sheet covered his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonella-gambotto-burke/the-light-in-that-room-was-a-glow-i-seem-to-remember-the-color-green/) [Antonella Gambotto-Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonella-gambotto-burke/) > [“Time is ungovernable, but grief presents us with a choice: what do we do with the savage energies of bereavement? What do we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonella-gambotto-burke/time-is-ungovernable-but-grief-presents-us-with-a-choice-what-do-we/) [Antonella Gambotto-Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonella-gambotto-burke/) > [Losing people you love affects you. It is buried inside of you and becomes this big, deep hole of ache. It doesn't magically go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-jones/losing-people-you-love-affects-you-it-is-buried-inside-of-you-and/) [Carrie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-jones/) > [The nature of most Covid-19 deaths, in hospital or a care home away from family and friends, has made it worse for the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciana-berger/the-nature-of-most-covid-19-deaths-in-hospital-or-a-care-home-away/) [Luciana Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciana-berger/) > [He spoke well who said that graves are the footprints of angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/he-spoke-well-who-said-that-graves-are-the-footprints-of-angels/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [And we wept that one so lovely should have a life so brief;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-we-wept-that-one-so-lovely-should-have-a-life-so-brief/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The reason he could do none of the necessary things to take care of himself, on the few occasions when he thought of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pouncey/the-reason-he-could-do-none-of-the-necessary-things-to-take-care-of/) [Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) > [“When we understand the illusory nature of life and the profound power of eternal love, which enables us to create miracles and experience the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-understand-the-illusory-nature-of-life-and-the-profound-power/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) ## More by Peter Pouncey > [“The reason he could do none of the necessary things to take care of himself, on the few occasions when he thought of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pouncey/the-reason-he-could-do-none-of-the-necessary-things-to-take-care-of/) [Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) > [“. . . Most falls aren't free -- there is always the tension, it seems to me, between what you are falling from and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pouncey/most-falls-aren-t-free-there-is-always-the-tension-it-seems-to-me/) [Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) > [“Let it all go, one foot in the grave and one bag packed. We shall go to our end in the warm glow of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pouncey/let-it-all-go-one-foot-in-the-grave-and-one-bag-packed-we-shall-go-to/) [Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) > [Still, wouldn't you, even if entirely secure in your own sense of direction, be at least curious where others were heading, even as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pouncey/still-wouldn-t-you-even-if-entirely-secure-in-your-own-sense-of/) [Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) > [Let me be to my sad self hereafter kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pouncey/let-me-be-to-my-sad-self-hereafter-kind/) [Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) [Explore all 6 Peter Pouncey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) ## More Bereavement quotes > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [“When we understand the illusory nature of life and the profound power of eternal love, which enables us to create miracles and experience the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-understand-the-illusory-nature-of-life-and-the-profound-power/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [When you lose your parents, the sadness doesn't go away. It just changes. It hits you sideways sometimes instead of head-on. Like now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-lose-your-parents-the-sadness-doesn-t-go-away-it-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A man is not completely born until he is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-man-is-not-completely-born-until-he-is-dead/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“It is the capacity to feel consuming grief and pain and despair that also allows me to embrace love and joy and beauty with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/it-is-the-capacity-to-feel-consuming-grief-and-pain-and-despair-that/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [“Sometimes, there was no getting over it. Sometimes, you lived with the empty place inside of you until you imploded on it, loss as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-kittredge/sometimes-there-was-no-getting-over-it-sometimes-you-lived-with-the/) [Caitlin Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-kittredge/) > [Grief that is dazed and speechless is out of fashion: the modern woman mourns her husband loudly and tells you the whole story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/grief-that-is-dazed-and-speechless-is-out-of-fashion-the-modern-woman/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [I bow in reverence before the emotions of every melted heart…The more intense the delight in their presence, the more poignant the impression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martineau/i-bow-in-reverence-before-the-emotions-of-every-melted-heart-the-more/) [James Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martineau/) > [“her skilled use of her body, especially her eyes and hands, when communicating with people enabled millions sense she was a conduit between royalty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-walter/her-skilled-use-of-her-body-especially-her-eyes-and-hands-when/) Tony Walter > [I can remember certain Manchester United defeats the way most people remember family bereavements or great political events. The four-nil drubbing by Barcelona, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-dunne/i-can-remember-certain-manchester-united-defeats-the-way-most-people/) Tom Dunne > [Farewell is said by the living, in life, every day. It is said with love and friendship, with the affirmation that the memories are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/farewell-is-said-by-the-living-in-life-every-day-it-is-said-with-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I used to feel afraid of the future, always assuming the worst. But now I've realized that my worst fears have already happened, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berrien/i-used-to-feel-afraid-of-the-future-always-assuming-the-worst-but-now/) [Elizabeth Berrien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berrien/) > [“Loss pushes us to difficult places where we have not been before. We often question whether or not we have the courage and stamina…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/loss-pushes-us-to-difficult-places-where-we-have-not-been-before-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [“He stood for a moment, bereavement a sudden, small tear in his soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/he-stood-for-a-moment-bereavement-a-sudden-small-tear-in-his-soul/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [Thou, Everlasting Strength, hast set Thyself forth to bear our burdens. May we bear Thy cross, and bearing that; find there is nothing else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/thou-everlasting-strength-hast-set-thyself-forth-to-bear-our-burdens/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) [Browse all 263 Bereavement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bereavement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Bereavement seemed to work on him as a kind of blanket allergy, making him edgy and irritable to all the outside world. 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