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How to View Your Grief Journey Progress Over Time

Lena, a 24-year-old graduate student in social work, was diagnosed with MS at 23. She has been living with anticipatory grief — grieving a future that has changed shape — for over a year. She knows the research. She knows grief isn't linear. But knowing that and seeing it in her own data are different things. The progress charts give her something to look at on the hard weeks: evidence that movement has happened, even when it doesn't feel that way.

After you've completed two or more grief dimension assessments, Grief Companion can show you how your scores have shifted over time. This is not a recovery tracker. It is a record of your experience, offered back to you without interpretation.

Steps​

1. Navigate to the Assess tab​

Tap Assess at the bottom of the screen. This is where your assessments live alongside your educational content and progress tracking.

2. Open "Progress Charts"​

Tap Progress Charts to open the visualization view. If you have only one assessment, you'll see a message encouraging you to complete a second one to unlock the timeline view. If you have two or more, the chart loads immediately.

3. See your grief dimensions plotted over time​

The progress view shows a line chart with time on the horizontal axis and each grief dimension represented as a separate line. The seven dimensions are:

  • Emotional intensity
  • Daily functioning
  • Meaning-making
  • Connection
  • Acceptance
  • Identity
  • Hope

Each dimension has its own color. You can toggle individual dimensions on or off by tapping the legend to focus on what matters most to you right now.

Not all dimensions move together. You might see daily functioning improving while emotional intensity remains high — that's not a contradiction, it's a real pattern in how grief works. The chart shows this nuance directly.

If a line dips sharply between two assessments, that is not a sign of failure. It may reflect a particularly hard period — an anniversary, an unexpected reminder, a sleepless stretch. The chart records the territory you've moved through.

5. Tap a specific assessment date to see the full radar chart​

Tap any date marker on the timeline to open the full radar chart from that assessment. This is the eight-spoked visualization you saw when you completed the assessment — showing all dimensions at once as a shape. You can compare the shapes from two different dates by tapping Compare and selecting a second date.

Watching the shape change is often more intuitive than reading the line chart — some people find the visual shift easier to sit with.

6. Compare your earliest assessment to your most recent​

Tap Compare and select your first assessment alongside your most recent. The two radar charts appear side by side. You'll see exactly how each dimension has shifted.

If the change is smaller than you expected, that is also useful information. Grief moves slowly. Expecting a dramatic change in a month is unrealistic — and the app will not suggest otherwise.

7. Read the note on non-linear progress​

At the top of the progress chart screen, a persistent note reads:

"Grief is not linear. Dips are normal and do not erase your progress. What you see here is not a grade — it's a record of where you've been."

This note stays visible even when your charts show a downward trend.

What to Expect​

Progress charts become available after your second assessment. There is no recommended assessment frequency — you can take them as often or as rarely as feels right. Many people find monthly assessments useful, but some prefer to take them only when something shifts significantly.

The chart never describes your scores as "good" or "bad." There are no labels like "healthy range" or "at risk." The scores exist to show change over time, not to evaluate whether you are grieving correctly.

note

Progress charts are available on all plan tiers, including Free.

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