The news may be stunning, surprising, or simply inevitable: someone once central to your life has died. And you feel nothing. Or you may feel a wave of sadness, even unexpected tears, that suddenly can be overwhelming.

These unexpected tears or emotional numbness can happen over losing:

It can be difficult to sort out the array of feelings or lack of feelings that come up with the death of someone who was once dear or never close or who brought you pain.

In the wake of such a loss—the loss of a person, a dream of reconciliation, a piece of your past—what........

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