Loss and Bereavement Flashcards
Define loss:
When you no longer have something because you have misplaced it or it has been taken away.
Impact of death:
It can be sudden and unexpected / the expected result of a long illness
The first death encountered / one of many bereavements already experienced
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We cannot predict how people will grieve, but give some examples that can impact this (6)
Trauma – sudden / unexpected / traumatic death
Attachment disorders
Depression
Self harm
Mental Health history
Suicide – past history
Culturally conditioned beliefs
Relationship difficulties
Previous losses
Social support and situation
Define bereavement:
A term that describes the period of grief around the loss of someone close
Define grief
Grief is what we feel when we are Bereaved:
“The emotional and psychological reaction to loss”
An intense emotional response that involves feelings of sorrow, suffering, being lost, anger, guilt,…
Define mourning
Mourning describes what we do when we experience grief – the outward manifestations of grief.
It is active, cultural, and often collaborative
RECAP
Bereavement is what happens to you
Grief is what you feel
Mourning is what you do
Grief can manifest into (4)
feelings
thoughts
physical sensations
behaviours
Aspects of grief
Physical: nausea, dry mouth, dry eyes, SOB, tight chest, decreased appetite, weakness
cognitive: disbelief, unrealtity, obsessive thoughts, memory loss, intense dreams
emotional: anger, sadness, depression, guilt, anxiety, shock
Behavioural: social withdrawal, avoiding reminders of deceased, changes in routine,
Name some types of grief and define them:
anticipatory - mourning for a future loss
disenfranchised - (a loss that cannot be openly acknowledged, publicly moured or soically supported
delayed - grief which is not experiences in the months following a loss, but becomes apparent later
re-grief - grievning which needs to be re-done when a new devlopemental stage is reached
complicated - chronic, delayed, exaggerated, masked
What may people try to turn to help with pain?
Counselling
support of their peers family
use of the internet
Some people will use, or increase their use of alcohol, illegal drugs, or anti-depressants. By doing this they distance themselves from what they need to feel to heal, and they distance themselves from their family members and support systems . The grief simply goes underground and waits to be expressed.
Models - know the names:
Bowlby (1969) Attachment, Separation and Loss
Traditional/phase models
Worden (1982); tasks of the bereaved.
Goodall (1994); wheel of grief
Kubler-Ross (1969); DABDA
Experiential models
Tonkin (1996); growing around grief
Strubler and Schut (1995);
Dual Process Model
Wilson (1993); Waterfall of Bereavement
Attig (2010); Relearning the World
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Bowlby (1969) Attachment, Separation and Loss
Attachment Styles – worked with children
Grief as behavioural phenomenon – the emotional distress of mourning is about breaking the bonds of attachment:
Shock and Numbness – the loss is not yet real
Yearning and Searching – trying to undo the loss
Despair and disorganisation – acceptance hits
Reorganisation and recovery
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Kubler Ross DABDA (draw it out) Draw all the models out, or get pictures and stick them up.
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Phase Models: Worden
Acceptance of reality of loss (Provide time to grieve, focus on the reality of the loss, illness, funeral etc.)
Experience pain of grief (Explore all emerging feeling such as rage, guilt and anguish.)
Adjust to environment without deceased (Overcome problems in readjusting; social and practical meaning of bereavement, including confidence and self esteem.)
Withdrawal of emotional energy and reinvesting in other relationships (Encourage withdrawing from the deceased and explore new sources of social and emotional gratification.)
