Psychology - Death Flashcards
Compared to the non-bereaved, bereaved people have
Higher mortality after the loss of a spouse (elderly)
Higher levels of morbidity and mortality (elderly)
Increased risk of accidents
Increased physical and emotional problems - aches and pains, disturbed sleep, panic attacks, depression
Higher suicide rates
Loss
We experience loss when a person we are attached to becomes permanently unavailable
Grief
The human reaction to loss. Acute – integrated – complicated
Bereavement
The psychological processes through which people adapt to loss
Normal grief reactions can be …
Physical
Emotional
Behavioural
Cognitive
What do 85% of bereaved people do
Adapt to a new reality without the deceased by the 2nd year of bereavement
Physical grief response - normal
Fatigue Sleep disturbances Appetite changes Aches and pains SOB Palpitations Restlessness Illness vulnerability Digestive problems
Emotional grief responses - normal
Depression Anxiety Anger Guilt Priming/ yearning Lineliness Sense of detachment Helplessness Numbness
Behavioural grief responses - normal
Crying Irritability Restlessness Searching Social withdrawal Difficulty in fulfilling normal roles
Cognitive repsones in normal grief
Poor conc Short attention span Memory loss Confusion Preoccupation Search for meaning Hallucinations Disturbances of identity
What does the duration and severity of someones grief depend on
1) How attached they were to the diseased person
2) The circumstances of the death (for example was it a sudden, traumatic or unexplained death; was it the death of child)
3) The amount of time to work through anticipatory mourning
4) Previous unresolved losses that the bereaved person might have experienced that can interfere with the process of normal grief
Anticipatory mourning
That is the grief some people go through when they expect the death of someone such as a person with a terminal illness
Theoretical approaches to grief
Phase model
Grief work
Dual-process model
Phases of Grief (Bowlby, 1980)
Initial period of shock, disbelief and denial
Acute grief
Integrated grief
Acute grief
Intermediate acute mourning period of physical and emotional discomfort, yearning and mourning, social withdrawal.
Impact of loss is registered cognitively and emotionally.
Integrated grief
Gradual shift to the ‘restitution’ phase when attention shifts back to reengaging with the world.
Adaptation and recovery
Basis for Phases of grief model
Grief is not a linear process with concrete stages but a fluid process with phases that are overlapping
Grief work model (Worden, 1991)
Describes the cognitive process of confronting the reality of a loss and adjusting to life with this loss
This process involves tasks of grief rather than stages. People who engage with these tasks, adapt better than those who don’t
Tasks of grief
To accept reality of the loss
Experience the pain of loss
Adjust to new environment without the lost person
Reinvest in the new reality
What does the Dual-Process model describe
How people cope with loss and to predict good versus poor adaptation to such a stressful life event
What was the Dual-Process model developed as
Direct response to the idea that we should do ‘grief work’ and go through grief stages before we are able to reengage with the world.
Loss orientated vs restoration orientated
Loss-orientated focuses on confrontation of loss and restoration-orientated focuses on avoidance of loss
Key element of Dual Process model
Oscillation
Coping with bereavement according to this model is a complex process that combines confrontation and avoidance, and oscillation is vital for adaptive coping
What may pathological grief result from
Complete lack of oscillation
Best model for understanding grief process
Dual-process model
