LEC 9: Families Facing Grief and Loss Flashcards
Suffering, Grieving, Mournig, and Loss
- Suffering (relief of suffering at the heart of nursing)
- Interconnection on beleifs, suffering, and spirituallity
- Suffering as a loss of control, a result of loss, very personal, search for meaning, lonliness, spiritual distress, pain without meaning
- Grief is a normal part of the life cycle
- Change/loss/giref
- Grief a similar process yet different for each individual
- Human beings live in social grous (long term effects of the loss)
- Early childhood experiences influence adult life
Manifestations of Grief
- Cognitive
- Slowed thinking, disorganized thoughts, suicidal thoughts, preoccupation with the deceased, wishing to join the deceased, being unaffected, hearing the deceased’s voice, low-self esteem
- Affective
- Numbness, blunting, outbursts, euphoria, hysteria, sadness, fear, panic, anger, relief, irritability, guilt, yearning, rejection, sadness, loneliness, anxiety
- Somatic
- Numbness, out-of-body experiences, hypoactivity, hyperactivity, chest pain, abdominal pain, weight change, illness, fatigue, sleep problems
- Social
- Relationships changes, seeking help, withdrawal, unpredictable mood swings, avoidance
- Spiritual
- Loss of faith, meaninglessness
Factors Associated with the Survivor
- Angry, ambivalent or dependent relationship with the deceased
- Other lossess of concurrent stressors
- History of concurrent mental illness
- Survivor’s perceived lack of social support
- Possible family conflicts
- Loss of traditions, beliefs, networks
Risk of Complicated Grief
- Factors associated with the kind of death
- Suddeness and lack of anticipation
- Violence, mutilation, and randomness
- Belief that the death could have been prevented
- Death of a child
- Death after a lengthy illness
- The person’s personal encounter with death
- Lack of support
- Relationship of dependency, anger, guilt
- Depression or other mental illness
- A difficult caregiving experience
What makes giref difficult for caregivers?
- Dual caregiving responsibilites
- Stressful relationships
- Financial concerns/ employment
- Missing the death
- Health problems
- Difficulties making decisions
- Lack of information
- The health care system (witholding inforamtion, lack of services and supports)
Family Nurses’ Role
- Companiong
- Listening, witnessing, curiosity
- Utilize active listening
- Avoid cliches and imposing models about the right way to grief
- Encourage sharing of memoires
- Normalizing responses and provide accurate information about giref process
- Identify and utilize natural support system
- Assist in the individual’s meaning making of the loss and giref experience
Bereavement
Used to describe having lost someone important or significant through death.
Grief
Intense emotion or distress following bereavement.
Which of the following described grief that is experienced before the death of a significant person:
a. Complicated grief
b. Unanticipated giref
c. Anticipatory grief
d. Disenfranchised grief
c. Anticipatory grief
As a nurse you have experienced 3 deaths in one week. What type of response might you be facing:
a. cumualtive loss
b. compassion fatigue
c. burnout
d. complicated grief
a. cumualtive loss
The 4 year old sun of a deceased male patient is asking questions about his father. How might you best respond to him:
a. Don’t respond directly since he is too yound to understand the permanence of death
b. Tell him father is sleeping and won’t be waking up
c. Explain that his father has died and encourage the option to attend the funeral
c. Explain that his father has died and encourage the option to attend the funeral
A bereaved person who experiences anxiety, sadness, and chest pain on a specific day in the year might be experiencing:
a. preparatory anxiety
b. psychological isolation
c. acceptance
d. anniversary grief reaction
d. anniversary grief reaction
