Grief, The Common Themes Of Grief

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

Grief is defined as a type of emotional or mental suffering from a loss, sorrow, or regret (Dictionary.com, LLC, 2010). Grief affects people of all ages, races, and sexes around the world. Approximately, 36% of the world’s population does or has suffered from grief and only a mere 10% of these people will seek out help (Theravive, 2009). Once a person is suffering from grief it is important to receive treatment. All too often, people ignore grief resulting in deep depression, substance abuse, and other disorders (Theravive, 2009). Grief counseling is very common and can be very helpful to a person in need of assistance. Grief counseling provides the support, understanding, and

Death is inevitable. It is one of the only certainties in life. Regardless, people are often uncomfortable discussing death. Nyatanga (2016) posits that the idea of no longer existing increases anxiety and emotional distress in relation to one’s mortality. Because of the difficulty in level of care for end-of-life patients, the patient and the family often need professional assistance for physical and emotional care. Many family caregivers are not professionally trained in medicine, and this is where hospice comes into play. Hospice aims to meet the holistic needs of both the patient and the patient’s family through treatment plans, education, and advocacy. There is a duality of care to the treatment provided by hospice staff in that they do not attempt to separate the patient’s care from the family’s care. Leming and Dickinson (2011) support that hospice, unlike other clinical fields, focuses on the patient and the family together instead of seeing the patient independent of the family. Many times in hospitals, the medical team focuses solely on the goal of returning the patient back to health in order for them to return to their normal lives. They do not take into account the psychological and spiritual components of the patient’s journey and the journey that the family must take as well. For treatment of the patient, Leming and Dickinson agree that hospice does not attempt to cure patients, and instead concentrates solely

This paper examines the implications of grief, bereavement and disenfranchised grief. Grief in response to a loss is a unique experience and is expressed distinctively by every individual. It is helpful to have models that outline the stages of grief that need to be experienced in order to achieve acceptance. However, their utility is limited by the reality that grief is immeasurably complex and individualized. Veterans and children are two groups at risk of developing disenfranchised grief. Therefore, it will be important for nurses to be able to identify those suffering with disenfranchised grief or other forms of maladaptive grief so appropriate intervention may be employed.

Grief counseling is a division of social work that involves the interpersonal aspect of the social worker’s role as expert in coping with death. In this paper I will define grief counseling and some ways to cope with loss. Next I will discuss the history and seven stages of grief. There are two main forms of grievers which are intuitive and instrumental. In addition there are four major types of grief which are acute, anticipatory, sudden and complicated. The helping process is explained as well as some disorders related to grief. A current trend for grievers is to seek involvement in programs such as the Canadian Cancer Society, Missing Children of Canada and Victim Services. These organizations provide counseling services and crisis

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 is a universally experienced phenomenon. In the United States alone, over 2.6 million people die each year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). For practitioners, it is of utmost importance to better understand the process of grief to develop better interventions for bereaved individuals.

When it comes to the experience of grief that goes along with a terminal diagnosis or death the focus of care, therapy, and concern is often placed solely on the patient and his or her family and friends, and rightly so (Woolhouse, Brown & Thind, 2012). However, the health care professionals that help to care for these patients and their loved ones are often left in the shadows to cope with the grief that they may be feeling, alone (Woolhouse, Brown & Thind, 2012). Often, their grief is deemed unacceptable by their colleagues and society, and they are certainly not provided with the same level of care as someone who is experiencing real grief, first-hand (Leming & Dickinson, 2016). This paper discusses the differences that health

Grief and loss are one of the most universal human experiences, though painful, and understandably causes distress. However, approximately 15 % experience a more problematic grieving process with elevated symptoms of depression and/or posttraumatic stress symptoms (Bonanno and Kaltman, 1999).There is no well-established model of the timeline for resolution of grief and the variance of its expression is wide. Many persons cope with the emotional pain of bereavement without any formal intervention. However, individuals who have experienced traumatic bereavement, such as deaths that are sudden, violent, or due to human actions (Green 2000), may face particular challenges. Researchers have tried to define a model for the treatment of traumatic bereavement that fully supports not only the client, but also those working with the clients around their trauma

To fully understand the causes and particularly the effects that bereavement can have on someone’s life, especially if you have been fortunate to not have been touched with the experience, will help with understanding what someone is going through and how it can alter their behavior. The intensity in which someone experiences their loss of a person is dependent on the closeness of the relationship and the suddenness of the passing, even religion amongst many other factors. “The way a person

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 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.

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.

Worden, J. (2009). Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner. 4th ed. New York: