Aninut: The First, Most Intense Period Of Death

The life transition of death and dying is inevitably one with which we will all be faced; we will all experience the death of people we hold close throughout our lifetime. This paper will explore the different processes of grief including the bereavement, mourning, and sorrow individuals go through after losing someone to death. Bereavement is a period of adaptation following a life changing loss. This period encompasses mourning, which includes behaviors and rituals following a death, and the wide range of emotions that go with it. Sorrow is the state of ongoing sadness not overcome in the grieving process; though not pathological, persistent

Loss is a phenomenon that is experienced by all. Death is experienced by family members as a unique and elevated form of loss which is modulated by potent stages of grief. Inevitably, everyone will lose someone with whom they had a personal relationship and emotional connection and thus experience an aftermath that can generally be described as grief. Although bereavement, which is defined as a state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one, is a universal experience it varies widely across gender, age, and circumstance (definitions.net, 2015). Indeed the formalities and phases associated with bereavement have been recounted and theorized in literature for years. These philosophies are quite diverse but

The most significant period of suffering I have gone through was when I lost my grandfather. I remember we had celebrated his 50th birthday never did imagine it would be the last. That horrible news impacts my life forever realizing that we don’t count for a tomorrow. His death was suddenly due to an embolism. His death caused me a lot of suffering because he was not sick and we had made a lot of plans. I did not know how to deal with his death because I was heartbroken. I wonder and questioned if maybe only God had given us a warning. I did not know how to manage my grief and mourned for him because I was angry with God. It took me time to understand that it was God’s will and that his soul had returned to God. I learned that his death of the body was not the end of his life (Rubin & Yasien-Esmael, 2004). I found comfort in the midst of suffering by finding acceptance in God. Also, I found praying for him and sharing my suffering with others helped me console my pain. I learn that “the lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit,” which help my relationship with God grow as my pain slowly vanished.

Grieving is a process the human mind goes through to stay healthy through a large loss. According to the American Psychology Association “Coping with the loss of a close friend or family member may be one of the hardest challenges that many of us face. When we lose a spouse, sibling or parent our grief can be particularly intense. Loss is understood as a natural part of life, but we can still be overcome by shock and confusion, leading to prolonged periods of sadness or depression. The sadness typically diminishes in intensity as time passes, but grieving is an important process in order to overcome these feelings and continue to embrace the time you had with your loved one.” The argument could even be made that grief is part of psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs (See Below), which is a pyramid shaped diagram used to explain the basic needs of humanity. In a brief explanation Simple Psychology puts is simply, “Maslow wanted to understand what motivates people. He believed that people possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires. Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fulfill the next one, and so on… This five stage model can be divided into basic (or deficiency) needs (e.g. physiological, safety,

According to Lauren Winner, “Judaism understands mourning as a discipline, one in which the mourner is not only allowed, but expected, to be engaged (Winner, 28).” In Judaism, friends, family and members of the church are more involved when someone is morning. During time of morning, there are four spaces or stages. The first stage is called aninut. This stage occurs after the death of someone but before their funeral. During this time, mourners focus on getting things ready for the funeral and they do not have to go to prayer services or welcome any guests at their homes. Also during this time, the people in the Jewish community are not obligated to visit the people who are morning. The second stage is called shiva. This stage occurs a week after the funeral. In this stage, the mourners go home and sit on low chairs. They do not leave their house, or wear perfume or even listen to music. On the seventh day, family and friends will bring food. They all have a meal together called seudat havra’ah. The third stage is called

Death has always been and will be a topic that just a few want to talk, but since time immemorial man has worshiped their dead, and this is reflected in the various rituals and forms of burial. The anguish of death has been considered the deepest anguish of man. Death is the inevitable companion of life, is the final stage. It can occur at any age, suddenly or after a long illness. Despite knowing that someday we will have to die the death of a loved one is a terrible fact, very difficult to accept, that affects everyone around the deceased person. When the link with the deceased breaks, the suffering is so great, that they put into question the fundamentals of being, of human existence and our deepest beliefs, affecting significantly the basic family and social relationships.

Whether it is over the death of a loved one or a very emotional situation, grief is inevitable. Most individuals experience a form of grief at some point in their lifetime. Coping with a distressing situation can be a very difficult task and there are many arguments as to whether there is a set and correct method on how to deal with grief or not. Many people have created a grieving process that includes going through certain stages in order. However, this proposed grieving method is no more than a false theory. Due to the fact that every single person grieves differently, there is no way to possibly set a specific way to grieve. “A Raisin in The Sun,” by Lorraine Hansberry and “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” by William Shakespeare both

It's a process that has to be dealt with. Another symptom that people experience is the feeling of numbness. People become so sad about their loss that nothing seems to matter to them anymore. The feeling of joy is gone and nothing brings happiness anymore. People go through their day without feeling anything. Their sadness spreads all over them and they can't control it. Grief is an immediate feeling. It can have various results such as pain, depression, and sadness. Our weakness begins to show more now than ever when we are grieving. We Losing a loved one is different for every person. Every person is different but there is definitely a clear pattern. In total, there are three outcome patterns. The first outcome pattern is chronic grief. Chronic grief is when someone becomes extremely depressed and a high level of grief. This type of grief can last for many years. The second type of grief is called the common grief pattern. This is when a elevation of symptoms such as depression, stress, and anxiety occur but last about a year or two. The third type of grief is when a person is not affected at all by the death of someone. This is very common for people. People may still be sad but they just are not emotional about it and grieve in different ways.

This grief symptom would be based on gender, ethnicity and race. Based on the analysis of the article and using PREPARE, this article would be retained for the final assignment due to the credibility of the authors, the research which was performed, and the method in which the authors performed the research.

The loss of a loved one is one of the most difficult experiences to endure in a human lifetime. The grieving process often encompasses the survivors’ entire world and affects their emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and physical selves in unexpected ways. After a major loss, such as the death of a spouse or child, up to a third of the people most directly affected will suffer detrimental effects on their physical and/or mental health (Jacobs 1993).

The death of a loved one or the loss of a close relationship is a very complicated process that people go through. Elisabeth Kubler Ross proposed in 1969 that there are five stages of normal grief and loss, which are denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. People do not necessarily go through them in a specific order. They could go through each step in different time, order and intensity. In William Shakespeare´s Hamlet, Hamlet shows all the stages of grief, after his father death, bouncing back and forth between each phase.

Once home a light (Shiva candle) is lite and remains burning during the seven days of mourning or Shiva (Shiva, meaning seven). The seven-day mourning period is a time for people in the community to show their love and support for the mourning. Food is brought into the home and friends and family help each other through the process of mourning. Also during this time the immediate family (parent, child, spouse, or sibling) will stay in the home taking a leave of absence from work or other enjoyed activities although children may return to school if parents allow. Jovial events will continue to be avoided during Sheloshim or the thirty-day period after death. This time may include a period of bereavement but gradually life returns to some form of normalcy.

The stages of mourning and grief are universal and are experienced by people from all walks of life. Mourning occurs in response to an individual’s own terminal illness or to the death of a valued being, human or animal. There are five stages of normal grief that were first proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying.”

Grief is the act following the loss of a loved one. While grief and bereavement are normal occurrences, the grief process is a social construct of how someone should behave. The acceptable ways that people grieve change because of this construct. For a time it was not acceptable to grieve; today, however, it is seen as a necessary way to move on from death (Scheid, 2011).The grief process has been described as a multistage event, with each stage lasting for a suggested amount of time to be considered “normal” and reach resolution. The beginning stage of grief is the immediate shock, disbelief, and denial lasting from hours to weeks (Wambach, 1985). The middle stage is the acute mourning phase that can include somatic and emotional turmoil. This stage includes acknowledging the event and processing it on various levels, both mentally and physically. The final stage is a period of

One theory is by Kubler-Ross she identified five stages of grief which are Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. Individuals can spend different amounts of time on these stages and these stages don’t need to be processed in order (www.ekrfoundation.org 2016).