Grief is the natural reaction to any kind of loss, but it is usually associated with the death of a loved one. Nearly everyone will lose someone or something in their lifetime, meaning that nearly everyone will experience grief in one way or another. The effects of grief can come in many forms, including emotional symptoms, physical symptoms, and can even develop into mental disorders that cross over into more than one dimension. Emotional Effects and Expressions of Grief Some effects of grief are extremely common, but are not all of them are felt by every griever. Common reactions include feelings of sadness, anger, and loneliness. (American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2013a). The anger that is felt can be directed at anyone or anything, …show more content…
The griever may feel tightness in their chest or throat, making it difficult to breathe. It is also common to feel weak or nauseous (American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2013a). Sleeping habits may be affected as well, resulting in difficulty falling or staying asleep. The lack of sleep can lead to feeling exhausted or losing energy quickly (American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2013a; Williams, 2014). It is also possible for grief to cause vulnerability to illnesses (American Society of Clinical Oncology, …show more content…
One set of symptoms used to diagnose PGD are described as separation distress. These include intrusive thoughts about the relationship that has been lost, intense emotional pain, and extreme yearning for the lost relationship (Craig, 2010). There are also cognitive, emotional, and behavioural symptoms of PGD. The individual experiencing PGD may have confusion about their own identity. They may feel that part of them died along with the person that they are grieving for. Other symptoms include difficulty accepting the loss and avoiding reminders. The griever may also feel that life is unfulfilling and meaningless without the deceased, and have a hard time moving on with their life (Craig, 2010). If the griever is unable to move forward in life, they may have an extreme preoccupation with the deceased. The griever is constantly trying to find ways to keep the deceased alive (Khoshaba, 2013). This preoccupation is almost like an addiction to the memories of the deceased. MRI scans of the brains of individuals experiencing complicated grief show activation in the parts of the brain responsible for rewards and addiction (Khoshaba, 2013). In PGD, the symptoms are bad enough that they severely interfere with the griever’s everyday social, occupational, and life activities. Conclusion Grief is experienced and expressed differently for every individual. There are many factors that can influence grief. A person’s culture can affect
Mourning usually occurs as a response to loss of relationship with the person, people or even animals with whom you are attached to, such as death of a loved one, terminal illness, loss of your pets and animals. There are five stages of the normal grieving process: denial or isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance; the grieving process varies on the individual basis and may not necessarily follow the sequences as well as a certain time frame (Axelrod, 2015). He further added that it is absolutely wrong to bury his own son who was supposed to bury his own father (Wolterstorff, 1987). Anger is a natural process directed toward the loved ones who are dying or in the dying process.
Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss. Although primarily focused on the emotional reaction to loss, it also carries a physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical connotation. Doctor Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the idea of the stages of grief in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying. Although it has received much criticism since then, the Kübler-Ross model remains to be the most widely accepted model of grief today. However, as most psychological research conducted in the 20th century was based on people living in the North America and Western Europe, the Kübler-Ross model could be culturally biased.
...ral differences in patterns of behavior and of social support includes each culture’s sense of what is sane and healthy, as opposed to life- and health-threatening. Thus, what people do protects the bereaved and in some senses everyone around the bereaved form. The cross-cultural emphasis, in fact, is a kind of metaphor. To help effectively, we must overcome our presuppositions and struggle to understand people on their own terms (i.e., not having the intention or the reason why the man placed a rose over Bella J. Bhukhan’s name).
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
Accepting What’s Not There Have you ever wondered why you feel the way you do after you lose someone? Well that feeling is grief, and the many stages that come with it. Grief is a deep sadness, for the loss of a loved one, especially through death.
Facing one’s grief is critical step in self-preservation. To heal from grieving one must admit their anguish, if one restrains grief, it can bring depression, anxiety, suicide, substance abuse, and health problems (Smith, 2014). The final technique to maintaining one’s self is to receive adequate rest. During sleep, the
What is Grief? Merriam-Webster ‘s online dictionary defines grief as, “deep sadness caused by someone’s death; a deep sadness; and/or a trouble or annoyance”(n.d.). This term may have a different way of impacting one’s life depending on geographical location; culture plays an important role in how those that experiences a loss or hardship, cope with grief. After further research, a closer look will be taken at the five stages associated with grief and loss, how Hindu and Islamic Muslim culture deal with death, and how cultural differences may impact the stages of grief.
Individually, everyone has their own methods of dealing with situations and emotions regardless of any positive or negative connotation affixed to them. One prime example of this comes with grief. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying” suggests that there are five stages of mourning and grief that are universal and, at one point or another, experienced by people from all walks of life. These stages, in no particular order, are as follows: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally Acceptance. Each individual person works through these stages in different orders for varying levels of time and intensity, but most if not all are necessary to “move on.” In order for positive change to occur following a loss, one must come to terms with not only the event but also themselves.
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
According to a study, many difficult cultures have the tendency to establish their methods of coping, whether it is through religion, culture, or/and personal ideologies (Chen, 2012). Mourning and burial ceremonies play a pivotal role for Lossography due to individuals having the ability and liberty to express melancholy and sometimes jubilation during the times they once had with their loved one. These types of beliefs and practices used as coping mechanisms can be very meaningful and profound for the comfort of the individual who’s going through a mournful experience (Chen, 2012). These types of coping mechanisms is important for Lossography, due to the fact that individuals are able to convey emotions through traditional practices, archaic arts and crafts, and spiritual rituals to fully find meaning with the death of their loved one. In addition, having established beliefs can definitely change the perception of what death signifies based upon religious and cultural expectations of the afterlife. However, not all cultures and religions put much emphasis into the afterlife. For instance, the monotheistic religion Judaism does not contain any interpretation of what happens after someone dies. Judaists believe that nothing happens after death, death is considered a taboo and not something that is commonly talked about for these religious individuals. Lossography, in religion may take on many forms for how death is perceived and for what actions can people take to ensure that their death will bring them to a place of peace, joy, and everlasting life. Lossography regarding religion, gives individuals hope that death is not the end, it gives them hope that knowing that person may not be here with us in the flesh, but that person is somewhere smiling down. Lossography in religion,
When we encounter the death of a loved one, it’s hard to understand and realized that the person is gone. According to Elizabeth Kubler Ross, individuals enter different stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and
It is not easy to cope after a loved one dies. There will be lots of mourning and grieving. Mourning is the natural process you go through to accept a major loss. Mourning may include religious traditions honoring the dead or gathering with friends and family to share your loss. (Mallon, 2008) Mourning is personal and may last months or years.
Everyone has or will experience a loss of a loved one sometime in their lives. It is all a part of the cycle of life and death. The ways each person copes with this loss may differ, but according to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s novel On Death and Dying, a person experiences several stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and, finally, acceptance. There is no set time for a person to go through each stage because everyone experiences and copes with grief differently. However, everyone goes through the same general feelings of grief and loss. There are also sections in Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet” that connect to the process of grieving: “On Pain,” “On Joy and Sorrow,” and “On Talking.” Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet” reflects on Kübler-Ross’s model of the different stages of grief and loss.
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.
While the end of life experience is universal, the behaviors associated with expressing grief are very much culturally bound. Death and grief being normal life events, all cultures have developed ways to cope with death in a respectful manner, and interfering with these practices can disrupt people’s ability to cope during the grieving