It's most often used as an exclamation of surprise or alarm. "good grief, is it that time already?" Hope this helps!!

My family from the Midwest uses this term, especially the older ones. I’ve heard it used in a similar way to, “oh my goodness/gosh!”, “Can you believe that?!?”, “Seriously?!?/Are you serious?” I’ve never heard it used as a happy or positive expression. An example would be: -“She does nothing but eat, and she’s gained 100 pounds!” -“Good grief!” I hope that is helpful.

"Good grief" is an older expression not commonly used today. It is generally used when you are a bit frustrated with something, and you want to express that in a polite non-vulgar way

please can we chat pravettly?

Hey I'd love to help. You can book a lesson with me so we can get started