Mostly, people in grief try to look for validation of their feelings and thoughts. They want someone to approve of their suffering and the loss that they have suffered. They want people to understand their feelings for the loss and what it meant for them even if it is a loss of a very older member of a family or a pet.
One may not be able to fulfil the loss, but one can become a much needed support for a person in grief. One need not stay away from providing support to grieving persons with the fear that they might do something bad. Your very presence can mean a lot for a person who has experienced a significant loss. There are things which you can if you can understand the process of grief and how to react for each situation.
Understanding
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We might feel sometimes uncomfortable talking about death or deceased but try not to stray away from the subject. Help the person express his feelings and thoughts about the loss in a candid way.
Accept the feelings and emotions: help the person express his feelings and emotions. Let the person know that it is ok to cry, it is ok to express anger, it is ok to break down. Expression of these feelings and emotions are required in the process of grief.
Offer reassurance without minimizing loss: feelings associated with loss may not be same for everyone. Each one have different meaning for their loss therefore we must offer reassurance without minimizing the loss. Share your experience of loss if you had one, but do not advise a person that you know what he/s he is going through.
Comments to avoid when comforting the bereaved:
• "I know how you feel." One can never know how another may feel. You could, instead, ask your friend to tell you how he or she feels.
• "It's part of God's plan." This phrase can make people angry and they often respond with, "What plan? Nobody told me about any
It is common for those experiencing grief to deny the death altogether. Many people do this by avoiding situations and places that remind them of the deceased (Leming & Dickinson, 2016). However, by simply avoiding the topic of death and pain, the mourner only achieves temporary relief while in turn creating more permanent lasting agony (Rich, 2005). In this stage, mourners will begin to feel the full weight of the circumstance. Whether the death of a loved one was sudden or long-term, survivors will feel a full range of emotions, such as sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, hopelessness, or grief. While many of these emotions can cause serious suffering, it is important for the survivor to feel whatever emotions come up and deal with those feelings, rather than trying to suppress any
Death and Grieving Imagine that the person you love most in the world dies. How would you cope with the loss? Death and grieving is an agonizing and inevitable part of life. No one is immune from death’s insidious and frigid grip. Individuals vary in their emotional reactions to loss.
Have you ever had pain inside you for so long and didn’t know how to deal with it, talk about it, or even accept the reality of the situation? Grieving is a personal process that has no time limit, nor one “right” way to do it. (Axelrod) There are 5 stages to grief and loss. The more significance the loss the more intense the grief will be. (Smith and Segal).
In order to appropriately respond to an individual that is dealing with bereavement, it is first important to have an understanding of how that individual is likely to grieve...
According to Dictionary.com, grief is defined as “keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret.” Grief, to many, is a terrible thing and it can materially affect a person and change their personality. What people don’t remember after enduring a tragedy, is that healing happens
Loss is an inevitable part of life that everyone goes through. As a nurse, it is my duty and obligation to have an understanding of what each of my patients’ reactions and responses are in order to help them in their grieving process. Each person deals with grief differently, in their own way and their own time. It is a process that people will experience at some point in their life. No two people are going to experience the same grief. Grieving is not an easy process, therefore, it is important for the individuals experiencing grief to know that they are not alone. It is important to express their emotions and feelings in order to gain acceptance of the situation and to facilitate healing.
Death is an unavoidable event that will eventually happen to everyone. Some days may be easier than others and life may feel like it has returned to normal and other days, we feel helpless. (Johnson, 2007) Dealing with the loss of someone never gets easier. Facing painful memories, confusion, heartache, and loneliness are all common reactions when it comes to loss. There is no right or wrong way of dealing with grief. Some feel the need to take it out on others, drink the pain away, or just simply wanting to be left alone. (Huffman, 2012) Those are only part of a short list of possible coping tactics. It all depends on the person and the loss they are going through that sends the griever down different roads trying to reach acceptance. Also, everyone has a different attitude towards death. Some accept the fact that people do not live forever and someday we all will die. Whether its old age, a car accident, suicide, or the misfortunes of being killed are all life ending possibilities. Some believe there is no life after death or that once a living thing dies; it cannot be brought back to life. All of these examples will be based off of the environment in which one has grown up in. (Huffman, 2012) In the following, the four stages of ‘normal’ grieving, several techniques on deali...
In the final phase Parkes (2001) describes the realization that life goes on by the bereaved, focusing on their future rather than the loss and setting goals to rebuild their life without the deceased. Townsend (2008) acknowledges that during the grieving process some may never complete all stages of grief whilst others will revisit previous stages. Kent and McDowell (2004) highlight the importance of good support immediately after death has occurred and should be provided sensitively, utilising evidence based practice. Having an awareness of grief models may aid the paramedic when communicating and treating a patient; without such research the paramedic practitioner may be ill equipped to deal with the needs of relative’s that have experienced a bereavement (Lugton
With the mention of death, three words come to mind, e.g., grief, mourning, and bereavement. Although, Touhy and Jett (2016) cited that these three words are used interchangeably, the authors differentiated the three, e.g., bereavement indicates the occurrence of a loss; grief referred to the emotional response to the loss, and mourning as the “outward expression of loss” (p. 482). It should be noted, that all three implied a loss. In addition, they are applied not only in times of death, but also in all kinds of loss. A loss brings along with it a trail of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. One such thought is the consideration of what it would be when one is gone forever. As discussed
This process is not easy because having a grief and working through the pain is very different from each other. This process is a broad concept because it includes several positive ways of handing the grief. The proper identification of the various emotions regarding pain and dealing with those is the main procedure of this task. The various emotions of grief are shame, hopelessness, fear, anger, guilt, sadness, loneliness, lack of hope, feeling emptiness (Beckett & Dykeman, 2017). The task can be accomplished in a correct manner if the griever is properly acknowledged by talking and understanding. Though there is one limitation in this process which can be a complex situation that is the griever can deny all the emotions and avoid talking about them. This process can create distress and anguish inside the mind of the griever. Sometimes this problem may rise due to the attitude of the society which creates a sense of grief inside the mind of the griever who tends to avoid the whole situation thinking nobody would understand. This whole criterion can be resolved if there is a proper sense of understanding among the griever and the society. (Brown,
Death is the unfortunate event in which the people on this Earth have to embrace as a part of life. Most can relate to death in some way whether it be by relating to someone who has died or being close to someone that has lived this eventual nightmare everyone can relate to death and grief in some type of way. According to the OED, grief is the “... act or fact of dying; the end of life; the final cessation of the vital functions of an individual.” Death and grief are forever in the lives of death’s victims, with no known cure, just nullified existence to help lessen the pain. As the grieving process becomes an essential element to families affected by death, a developing mentality can be forever shaped by the components of death, grief, and redemption.
Grieving is the outward expression of your loss. Every individual grief is likely to be expressed physically, emotionally, and psychologically. For instance, crying is a physical expression, while depression is a psychological expression. It is very important to allow the client to express these feelings. Often, death is a subject that is avoided, ignored or denied. At first it may be helpful
People cope with the loss of a loved one in many ways. For some, the experience may lead to personal growth, even though it is a difficult and trying time. There is no right way of coping with death. The way a person grieves depends on the personality of that person and the relationship with the person who has died. How a person copes with grief is affected by the person's cultural and religious background, coping skills, mental history, support systems, and the person's social and financial status.
All of my life, until I was eighteen years old, I didn’t understand the concept of grieving. Grief just hasn’t been something I’ve ever had to experience before. Because of my lack of experience I had no understanding of what grieving felt like. All of his changed for me on July 29th.
Nurses work in many situations where they will observe patients and their families experiencing grief and loss. In order for patients to receive the utmost care it is imperative for nurses to have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of these theories and the stages of grief and loss to facilitate support to their patients and their patients families.