Chronic Sorrow Theory : An Overview

Grief is a natural response to a major loss, though often deeply painful and can have a negative impact on your life. Any loss can cause varied levels of grief often when someone least expects it however, loss is widely varied and is often only perceived as death. Tugendhat (2005) argued that losses such as infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, adoption and divorce can cause grief in everyday life. Throughout our lives we all face loss in one way or another, whether it is being diagnosed with a terminal illness, loss of independence due to a serious accident or illness, gaining a criminal record (identity loss), losing our job, home or ending a relationship; we all experience loss

The Two-Track Model of Bereavement is a model that states loss is conceptualized along two axes. Track I pertains to the biopsychosocial functioning in the event of a loss and Track II pertains to the bereaved’s continued emotional attachment and relationship to whoever is deceased. The effect of Track I is seen through the bereaved’s functioning, including their anxiety, their self-esteem and self-worth, and their depressive affect and cognitions. Noting the ability of one to invest in life tasks after experiencing a loss indicates how they are responding to the loss of the deceased. This Track is seen as an expression similar to one of trauma, or crisis. Track II holds that the bereaved has difficulty physically separating from the deceased. This can be seen in emotional, interpersonal, or cognitive ways. It is shown through imagery and memories that the bereaved experiences surrounding the deceased, whether positive or negative, as well as the emotional distance from them. These pictures in the bereaved’s head explain both the cognitive and emotional view of the person who has died (Rubin, 1999).

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

Life involves many losses. There are small losses: losing a football game, failing a test, or forgetting an assignment. At some point, though, all of us will experience a major loss: the death of a close family member, a major illness, or a divorce in the family. Loss is inevitable for all of us. If you have ever experienced grief and loss, or if you are currently experiencing it, then you might be trying to recover the wrong way. You might believe that you have gotten over it, but it could come back even years later. When it comes to grief and loss, there are a lot of components that people do not understand, but today there are many methods to coop that will lead you down the path of healing.

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 theme of parental mourning has been a universal one throughout the centuries. In the literature on bereavement, writers repeat certain themes, thoughts, and reflections; they talk of the powerful and often conflicting emotions involved in "the pain of grief and the

In normal life, people will sometimes suffer from depression or sickness caused by the loss of a loved one in a romantic or family relationship. This has been a part of life for hundreds of years and it is a way that authors like Edgar Allan Poe, William Faulkner and Horacio Quiroga connect with people all throughout the world. Using exaggerated scenarios, these authors communicate how much of an impact isolation or abandonment can have on a person physically or mentally decaying.

Sigmund Freud was an influential psychoanalyst in the late 18th century to the early 19th century. He made many advances in the field of psychology which have impacted other academic areas such as sociology and social work. In his 1915 paper “Mourning and Melancholia” he connected the normal realm with the pathological. In which he “compared mourning – a normal if painful event from which hardly anyone is spared – with a pathological although very common one: melancholia” (Fiorini et al. 2007). The natural human process is to mourn the loved subject or object when it is lost. Freud explains that grief is the feeling of losing love and once it is fully lost desolation and fear takes its place

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.

Complicated grief (CG) is a mental disorder characterised by intense emotions following the death of a loved one, severely and persistently impacting on daily life, compared to normal cases of bereavement (Solomon & Shear, 2015). Lichtenthal, Cruess and Prigerson’s (2004) review discusses the necessity of acknowledging and defining CG as a separate mental disorder. CG is not considered a mental disorder under the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5), but is within the category of ‘Disorders Requiring Further Study’ (Shear, Ghesquiere & Glickman, 2013). In Lichtenthal et al.’s (2004) review, CG is defined, and a distinction is made between normal and ‘complicated’ grief. A justification for the discriminant validity of CG is also made, by differentiating CG from other disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD) and adjustment disorder (AD).

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

The loss of an adult child is devastating just as is the death of a younger child. However, there are differences as to how both the parents react to such losses. In this case the paper focuses on loss of an adult child and how the parent copes with the situation. The paper will give insight on the situation that precedes the demise of the child such as trajectory of illnesses which is more recent. A review on how the parents deal with the loss after it occurs will be discussed as well as the various issues the parent faces. The impact on the parent after the child’s loss is also featured. There will be a summary of the findings then finally a section that will give the implications of the research and its importance to the field of psychology and an improvement in human beings

An “off-time” family life cycle transition is a non-normative event that happens outside the expected life cycle and may cause trauma or a conflict to the family of the child with the disability. These events that happen are known as unexpected transitions which are experienced at an unanticipated or unusual time during the life cycle transition of a family who have a child with disabilities (Turnbull, Turnbull, Erwin, Soodak, & Shogren, 2011). For example the demise of an older person may be considered a natural part of the life cycle because as one grows old, it is expected that the individual will die eventually. Though, death at whatever age may cause families to struggle emotionally as the passing of a loved one is still hard to bear and accept. But though in grief, the family celebrates the life of a person who has lived to a ripe old age as they leave behind numerous memories which are shared among the family members. These memories have the effect of comforting the family and relieving stress. But the passing of a child is hard to accept, causing a lot of stress to the parents and the family Turnbull (2011), as such a death is generally regarded as cruel twists of fate. Meaning, this was not expected in the family cycle. The parents of the deceased child will be in denial, face heartbreak and loneliness. Society might look at the passing of such a child with disabilities as a relief to the

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.

The theory of chronic sorrow is a middle range nursing theory explored largely by Georgene Gaskill Eakes, Mary Lermnann Burke and Maragret A. Hainsworth. The theory provides framework for understanding and working with individuals who have experienced a significant loss of a loved one. As stated by Eakes et al. (1998, p. 179), Chronic sorrow is described as “…the periodic recurrence of permanent, pervasive sadness or other grief related feelings associated with a significant loss.” As nurses, it is vitally important to understand and be aware of the high potential for chronic sorrow to occur when treating patients across the life span with chronic and traumatic conditions.