Anticipatory Mourning And Grief Analysis

Looking at an anticipated death for example when someone is terminally ill planning can be made well in advance of the loss happening. We may then experience anticipatory grief. This type of grief gives the bereaved an opportunity to gain closure. The bereaved would still feel emotions of fear, anger, guilt, sadness, blame and possibly denial.

While bereavement is an external process by which one externally or publicly grieves, mourning is the grieving that happens internally. “Stroebe defined bereavement as a state of loss, triggering a reaction that manifests in a set of behaviors known as mourning,” (Buglass, 2010, 44). There are stages that one goes through when grieving, this is how they emotionally heal after their loss.

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

Death is a part of life and eventually everyone on this earth will experience it. Nurses play an important role in death. Mourning the death of a loved one is something that almost everyone will experience in this lifetime because it is a natural response to death. Bereavement, grief and mourning are all effected by one’s culture, religion, the relationship with the deceased, personality, and how the person died.

Losing a loved one can be very painful, emotional and overwhelming. The difficult part after losing a loved one is learning how to cope with the loss. In order for nurses to help individuals cope with a loss of a loved one it is important for them to understand the grief process. This paper will define and explain the bereavement role, disenfranchised grief, four tasks of mourning and how nurses can help bereaved individuals with these processes.

Death can be divided into two broad categories: anticipated and unanticipated. As cited in Bouchal, Rallison, Moules, and Sinclair (2015), Aldrich (1974) defines anticipatory grief (AG) as “any grief occurring prior to a loss, as distinguished from the grief which occurs at or after a loss.” (p.44). Similarly, as noted in Al-Gamal and Long (2010), Worden (2003) defines AG as “an active process of grieving that occurs prior to actual loss” (p.1981) Reynolds and Botha (2006) mention Clayton’s (1973) definition of unanticipated death (UD) as less than 5 days, while Merriam Webster (2016) defines unanticipated as “not expected or anticipated”. Grief that results from this type of death is unanticipated grief (UG). INSERT BIT ABOUT COPING SKILLS???

According to Worden’s Four Tasks of Mourning, when someone loses a loved one to death, there are certain things that need to be accomplished before the person can move on with life. Worden suggests that there are four stages that needs to be completed before someone could successfully mourn. Each of the stages that are described seem to correlate with the mourning process that Mitch experienced. The first stage is to accept the reality of the loss. Due to Mitch experiencing anticipatory grief, once he realized that death is inevitable, he began to express his feelings about the death and dying process, and then agreed to meet every Tuesday because he knew that Morrie would die soon. Once Morrie actually died, Mitch

Every sane person will experience grief or bereavement at one stage of their life. Bereavement is defined as a state of intense grief, such as after the loss of a loved one. In this essay we will explore the various causes of bereavement and the effects it can have on an individual’s life.

Someone who is grieving will experience “major psychological, spiritual, social and physiological” changes throughout the grieving process (Hooyman & Kramer, 2006, p37). There are many theories and models that support these words. This essay will discuss Freud’s theory of grief work (Davies, 2004), Bowlby’s attachment theory (Walsh, 2012), and Worden’s tasks of grief (Worden & Winokuer, 2011). The major tasks of grief throughout the four different stages of life will be looked at, as well as common grief reactions, and ways to support people through these. In addition how children, adolescents, adults and the elderly understand and respond to grief will be examined. Finally how people at the various stages of life confront their own death will be looked at, including some personal examples.

Two types of depression are associated with mourning. The first one is a reaction to practical implications relating to the loss. Sadness and

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

This is further accentuated by preparatory silent grief. This is when they wish they could do something they always used to, but hasn't missed it until it is gone form them, in example they would like to see their children again.

The loss of a loved one is a very crucial time where an individual can experience depression, somatic symptoms, grief, and sadness. What will be discussed throughout this paper is what the bereavement role is and its duration, as well as the definition of disenfranchised grief and who experiences this type of grief. I will also touch upon the four tasks of mourning and how each bereaved individual must accomplish all four tasks before mourning can be finalized. Lastly, with each of these topics, nursing implications will be outlined on how to care for bereaved individuals and their families.

Greif and loss is experienced by everyone from all cultures. Grief is when individuals process the loss of a valuable friend, family member or someone they know. Greif can be from someone crying to celebrating the life of an individual. Loss can happen through terminal illness, loss of relationships or the death of a human or animal.

This essay explores several models and theories that discuss the complexities of loss and grief. A discussion of the tasks, reactions and understanding of grief through the different stages from infants to the elderly, will also be attempted.