Facing the Loss of a Loved One and the Grieving Process
Introduction
From the moment we come in this world grief becomes an inevitable part of our lives. We grief for various reasons, the loss of loved ones, diagnosis of a terminal illness, loss of a job, relationships, property among other things we deem important to us.
Medicinenet.com defines grief as the normal reaction to a loss. Emotional reactions of grief can include anger, guilt, anxiety, sadness, and despair, while physical reactions can include sleeping problems, changes in appetite, physical problems, and or illness.
While grieving is a natural emotional reaction to loss, grief can be functional or dysfunctional. During the grieving process the intense pain of the loss gradually fades and allows the person to begin to heal and return to his or her regular life. This process may take a few months, this however, is normal and is considered uncomplicated or functional grief. Complicated grief or dysfunctional happens when the individual experiences the pain and intense sadness for a prolong period of time, this usually results in the individual’s inability to function. This may also manifest itself in actual physical symptoms.
Case Study
Debbie Davis, a healthy six year, who loves riding her bike, playing soccer and climbing trees, came home from school one day and told her parents she just wanted to sleep. Though this was unusual for the normally rambunctious child, her parents accredited it to being winter
Theorists like Lindemann claim that there are five phases that are normal to go through in grieving: somatic disturbance, preoccupation with the deceased, guilt, hostility or anger, and difficulty with everyday tasks. Kubler-Ross identified the commonly recognized and accepted stages of grief
One of the concepts that people do not understand about grief and loss is the general idea of what it is and how it impacts people. According to Teen Health and Wellness’s article “Grief and Loss: Experiencing Loss,” is what happens when you no longer have something or someone that was extremely significant in your life, and the emotions that result are very real to you. You are entitled to these emotions. Many experts believe that the best thing for a person grieving to do is to let themselves feel sad. Lattanzi-Licht writes, common symptoms of grief are: “guilt or anger; restlessness; a sense of unreality about the loss; difficulty sleeping, eating and concentrating; mood changes; a loss of energy; constant thoughts of the
Grief is the process of reacting to physical or emotional loss, including death or divorce.
Grief refers to the psychological reaction to the bereavement, the death of a loved one. When a person dies who has been a close companion and with whom we have had a close bond with, many changes in our life have to be taken in. Death of a long-term partner can force on us a need to redefine ourselves and it is not an easy task. Grief becomes a problem when someone gets stuck in grief, this is know as “complicated grief” or “chronic grief”. Factors that contribute to this include a lack of family support and remaining overly focused on past memories. Returning to normal everyday activities is the most obvious sign that the grieving stage is over.
Normal grief is when an individual’s physical, cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and behavioral responses based on his or her relationship with the person who passed on, would manifest within a certain period of time and allow a degree of closure (Carrington & Bogetz, 2004). Examples of physical symptoms are shortness of breath, increased blood pressure, weakness, and dry mouth; behavioral symptoms – crying, insomnia, restlessness, and social withdrawal; cognitive symptoms – confusion, absent-mindedness, and poor
To begin, Buglass (2010, pp.44), defines grief as an intense human response to separation, bereavement, or loss which can include emotional, cognitive, behavioural, physical, social and even spiritual change. Despite considerable variation in the experience of grief, many individuals will
The first step of the grieving process is denial. Denial is the unwillingness or inability to accept that a loss has occurred. During this stage, the person may not talk to you or she my act as the deceased person is still there. When in denial the person that is grieving normally acts like everything is fine and nothing has happened. The first stage is the brains defense mechanism; it allows the death to “hit” them for a period of time before the person actually comes to terms with the loss. This stage of the grieving process doesn’t last
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
Grieving depends upon a number of factors such as individual personality, life experience and faith. Healing happens little by little, some may grieve in weeks while some may grieve in years. Patience is imperative in the healing process; it allows the process to unfold naturally.
Someone who is going through a state of grief has experienced some type of loss. Grief is a natural reaction to dealing with some type of loss. This loss includes, but is not limited to, death of a loved one, death of a bed, separation or divorce, tragedy, injury, moving, loss of health, etc. These
Grief can sometimes be thought of as something that should be avoided, however it is a normal process that allows individuals to process a loss. Leming and Dickinson (2010) suggested that in a normal
Grief is an emotion that we have which is very complex and often misunderstood. Unfortunately, grief is something that we all will experience in our lives at one time or another. We will all experience loss in our lives. The stages of grief are the same whether it be through the death of a loved one, divorce, or some other loss. There are five stages of grief. It is said that if we get stuck in one of the stages, the process of grieving is not complete, and cannot be complete. This means that a person will not complete the entire healing process when there is a loss in their life. A person must go through all five stages of grief to be well again, and to fully heal. Not everyone goes through the stages at the same time. It is different for
Grief is a sense of loss which is a natural emotion. If one does, not grieve properly it can lead to emotional and physical problems. To avoid this from happening allow time to grieve, feel the pain and sorrow and let it out. This is natural, this is also healthy. There are five steps of the grieving process: anger, bargaining, depression, and resolution (Manning, Curtis, McMillin, & Attenweiler, 2011).
Little by little, hour by hour, day by day, people die. The people that die could be loved ones, strangers, friends, foes, just about anybody! Death is a terrible ordeal that one has to go through. Although people die every day the loss that someone feels changes them; as well as those they love, those they were close too, even those they don’t know. How can something that is so frequent effect people in tremendous days? Shouldn’t death be expected? Though people are always cautioned to expect the unexpected, when something catches you by surprise however, it can throw you for a whirl. After the death of a loved one, one of the main emotions felt is grief. This leads one to ask quite an important question: what exactly is grief?
No two people experience grief in the same way, “each person’s grief is like all other people’s grief; each person’s grief is like some other person’s grief; and each person’s grief is like no other person’s grief” (Worden, 2009). How we think and feel, the way our body functions, and the way we interact with others are all affected by grief and mourning. Some common experiences can include: apathy, anger, anxiety, crying, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, Guilt, helplessness, irritability, loneliness,