6.4 The Bereaved Individual

Question 1

Loss

Answer 1

• Separation from something of personal importance.

Question 2

Grief

Answer 2

• Deep, emotional anguish in response to subjective experience of loss

Question 3

Mourning

Answer 3

• Psychological process of adapting to loss

Question 4

Bereaverment

Answer 4

• Period of sadness that is a normal process of reacting to loss

Question 5

Kubler-Ross Stages of Grief

Answer 5

Stage 1 - Denial
- Difficulty believing that loss has occurred. Protects the individual from psychological pain of reality

Stage 2 - Anger
- Reality sets in. Self blame or blaming others

Stage 3 - Bargaining
- Attempts to strike a bargain with god. Person acknowledges the loss but holds out for additional alternatives

Stage 4 - Depression
- Mourns for loss. Painful stage where individuals confront feelings associated with loss (reactive depression) Feelings associated with impending loss as well (preparatory depression)

Stage 5 - Acceptance
- Worked through the behaviors associated with grief. Anxiety decreases and methods of coping with loss have been established.

Question 6

Length of Grief

Answer 6

• Each stage has a task that must be complete before moving onto the next.
• Depends on individual and can last years without being maladaptive

ACUTE GRIEF
- Lasts 6-8 weeks

• Lasts longer if the person was strongly dependent on the lost person or if that person was a strong physical/emotional support.
• Love/Hate relationships may instill the feeling of guilt which interferes with grieving process.
• A number of prior recent losses can also slow the grieving process
• Grief over a loss of a child is more traumatic (especially violent death) which increases incidence of parent PTSD
• If the bereaved person perceives responsibility for the loss grief may take longer
• Grief may take longer if death was due to suicide or murder.

Question 7

Anticipatory Grief

Answer 7

• Experiencing normal grief response before the loss actually occurs
• Serves as a defense for individuals to ease burden of loss

Question 8

Delayed/Inhibited Grief

Answer 8

• Absence of evidence of grief when it ordinarily would be expected
• Remains in the denial stage
• May trigger later in life or overreaction to another loss later on.

Question 9

Distorted/Exaggerated Grief

Answer 9

• Exaggerated feelings of grief affect a persons ability of daily living
• Remains fixed in the anger stage
• When this anger turns inward on self it turns into depression

Question 10

Chronic/Prolonged Grief

Answer 10

• Maladaptive Grief response
• Grief affects daily function

Question 11

Maladaptive Grieving

Answer 11

• Usually leads to depression

Question 12

Developmental Cycle and Death

Answer 12

Birth to 2
- Unable to recognize/understand death but experience loss and separation.

Ages 3-5
- Believe death is reversible. Have some understanding but difficult to distinguish fantasy from reality

Age 6-9
- Beginning to understand finality of death and have normal grief responses

10-12
- Understand that death is final and affects everyone. Anger, guilt and depression is common.

Adolescent
- Views death at an adult level but have difficulty perceiving their own death. May exhibit acting out behaviors

Elderly
- May be susceptible to bereavement overload which results in depression (due to so many losses)