In real life, pretty much everybody reacts to tragedy differently. So why is it that every author has their pet reaction to tragedy that all their characters use? Not only is it unrealistic, but it takes away the chance for the characters’ different reactions to reveal things about themselves.
Possible reactions to tragedy (not an exhaustive list):
Distracting oneself with mindless activities
Distracting oneself with others’ humor
Distracting oneself by making jokes
Distracting oneself by reading/watching/playing stories
Distracting oneself with hard mental work
Distracting oneself with hard physical work
Distracting oneself with creative endeavors
Distracting oneself by chatting with friends about normal things
Talking to friends about the tragedy
Talking to authority figures about the tragedy
Talking anonymously with strangers about the tragedy (if possible)
Getting wrapped up in others’ problems
Staying unusually silent
Screaming
Crying loudly
Crying silently
Doing everything possible not to cry
Pacing
Taking unhealthy risks
Going for revenge against whoever one can blame
Punching random objects
Throwing random objects
Lashing out against friends and family members
Trying to prevent a similar tragedy from happening
Eating more than usual
Not eating
Taking mind-altering substances
Getting in unhealthy relationships
Isolating oneself
Obsessing over routine
Numbness combined with apathy
Numbness combined with going through one’s normal motions
Trying to get things back the way they were
Denial
No reaction at first but a reaction hits later in greater force
No reaction at all. Emotions relating to the tragedy just fail to load. Note that this can happen to anybody and does not mark a character as a sociopath.
Characters can have more than one reaction at the same time, one reaction after another, or different reactions to different tragedies.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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