Sigmund Freud, born on May 8th, 1856, was the founder of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysts believed that human behavior, experience, and cognition were largely determined by irrational drives which were mostly unconscious. Freud further developed the mechanisms of repression and established a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and their respective psychoanalyst. Though psychoanalysts are not very common in our current day, other forms of psychotherapy have developed that employs diverging ideas, originating from Freud’s original thoughts and approach to studying the mind (Boeree).
Freud went on to later synthesize a theory of what he believed happened during grief. According to his theory, we become emotionally attached to our loved ones by investing libido, or physical energy, in them. When these loved ones pass, we have a sense that we lost this energy, which he believes accounts for changes in our sensitivity. Under Freud’s theory, grieving consists of severing these emotional attachments by withdrawing our energetic investments (Watson). Though Freud’s view on death was fashioned centuries ago, it can still be clearly seen in various aspects/locations in modern time. Freud’s ideas which have become the backbone to the ‘six reconciliation needs for mourning’ are currently used as the basis for ritualistic tendencies of funerals, self-help books that are utilized within Hospice units in Hospitals, and self-help groups.
The initial need to help the family acknowledge the reality of the death of a loved one is commonly carried out by funeral homes. Typically, death is acknowledged in two phases, the first dealing with acceptance in our mind and then within our hearts. Sigmund Freud b...
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...e are supposed to do. Self-help groups attempt to fill bereaved ones lives with activities that may interest them in the hopes that these activates will either get their mind off the recent death or aid in helping the individual reinvent themselves.
Works Cited
Boeree, C. George. "Sigmund Freud." My Webspace Files. 2009. Web. .
Smith, Melinda, and Jeanne Segal. "Supporting a Grieving Person." : Helping Others Through Grief and Loss. Jan. 2012. Web. .
Watson, Donald E. "Apperception Theory of Grieving." Don Watson's Home Page. 12 Feb. 2005. Web. .
Wolfelt, Alan D. "Why Is the Funeral Ritual Important?" 2007. Web.
I have little doubt that this book will be a terrific addition to the library of any counselor of any stripe, and will be recommended reading for anyone mired in the pain of grief. I ‘m certain that I will not abandon my copy, and that it will always be a first-option resource in my library.
We all deal with death in our lives, and that is why Michael Lassell’s “How to Watch Your Brother Die” identifies with so many readers. It confronts head on the struggles of dealing with death. Lassell writes the piece like a field guide, an instruction set for dealing with death, but the piece is much more complex than its surface appearance. It touches on ideas of acceptance, regret, and misunderstanding to name a few. While many of us can identify with this story, I feel like the story I brought into the text has had a much deeper and profound impact. I brought the story of my grandmother’s death to the text and it completely changed how I analyzed this text and ultimately came to relate with it. I drew connections I would have never have drawn from simply reading this story once.
Grief can arise from loss, whether large-scale or small, and may not be easily removed once it takes hold. Because of grief’s obstinate nature, many approaches have been developed in order to handle the repressive, and often painful, effects it can have on people’s lives. One of those approaches is Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’s theory, The Five Stages of Grief. In Sierra Skye Gemma’s essay, “The Wrong Way”, she juxtaposes her own personal experiences with grief against Kübler-Ross’s hypothesis. Gemma uses her confessional, combined with empirical evidence that contradicts the Five Stages of Grief, to demonstrate that feelings of grief are unique to the individual; therefore, there is no right way to mourn.
The characters in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones are faced with the difficult task of overcoming the loss of Susie, their daughter and sister. Jack, Abigail, Buckley, and Lindsey each deal with the loss differently. However, it is Susie who has the most difficulty accepting the loss of her own life. Several psychologists separate the grieving process into two main categories: intuitive and instrumental grievers. Intuitive grievers communicate their emotional distress and “experience, express, and adapt to grief on a very affective level” (Doka, par. 27). Instrumental grievers focus their attention towards an activity, whether it is into work or into a hobby, usually relating to the loss (Doka par. 28). Although each character deals with their grief differently, there is one common denominator: the reaction of one affects all.
In Freud’s view, the difference between traumatic loss and the mourning is that a loss will not be a permanent trauma, but be considered as normal bereavement. Individuals effected by trauma, experience major mood of pain and display loss of interest in their surrounding (p. 46).
In the article, “The Internet: A tool to Normalize grief”; Sally Dominick and Blair Irvine explain to their readers that there has been over 60 years of research documentation that include examples of physical and cognitive reaction as well as negative and affective reactions-sadness and the experience of relief and emancipation. With all this at hand, behav...
Devito, Joseph A. "Communicating with the Grief Stricken." Devito, Joseph A. The Interpersonal Communication Book. Boston: Pearson, Allyn & Bacon, 2009. 175.
Denial is the first stage in grief; it’s a defense mechanism that buffers the immediate response. People tend to hide from the facts. The intense emotion is deflected from our vulnerable core, redirected and expressed instead as anger the second step. Bargaining is the next step, which is the weaker line of defense to protect us from painful reality. Next step is Depression, which there are 2 types of. First is reaction to practical implicating relating to the loss. The other is our quiet preparation to separate and to allow our loved one leave in peace. Last is acceptance, which is a gift not offered to everyone? This phase is marked by withdrawal and calm.
Leming, M., & Dickinson, G. (2011). Understanding dying, death, & bereavement. (7th ed., pp. 471-4). Belmont, California: Wadsworth.
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
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. There is no right or wrong way to grieve (Huffman, 2012, p.183), it is a melancholy ordeal, but a necessary one (Johnson, 2007). In the following: the five stages of grief, the symptoms of grief, coping with grief, and unusual customs of mourning with particular emphasis on mourning at its most extravagant, during the Victorian era, will all be discussed in this essay (Smith, 2014).
Worden’s theory (1996) involves four fundamental tasks of mourning that he believes must be completed for a person or family system to return to equilibrium and to successfully grieve a loss. These...
Individuals assuming the bereavement role may experience this role several instances throughout their lifetime, each instance of bereavement being exclusive to the circumstance and varying in its own way (Cutcliffe, 2002). A novice nurse will face the task of bringing the bereaved individuals difficult news and updates about their loved one. It will take an immense amount of courage and patience to allow the individual whether it is the patient, family, or another nurse to grasp the loss (Leming, 2016). The stages of bereavement are thought to have 5 steps, each with its own length of time and intensity that varies from person to person (Cutcliffe, 2002). Initially the bereavement role begins with denial and isolation, which may then lead to anger followed by a form of bargaining that can in many cases result in a dark hole of depression but with the hope that the final stage will be that of acceptance (Cutcliffe, 2002). During these stages, the bereaved individual receives a hall pass for completion of any routine social obligations (Leming, 2016). In addition, it is acceptable for them to become reliant on others for all levels of support, which may include activities of daily living such as cooking meals (Leming, 2016). For the bereaved individual to cope effectively, each step in the stages of bereavement must be is accomplished to reach a level of normal social functioning which is the unspoken goal. While the bereavement role varies in length of time per the individual and the circumstance, there is a practical time allotted, as bereavement should not be long-lived, but rather transitory (Leming,
Leming, M.R. & Dickinson, G.E. (2011). Understanding dying, death, and bereavement (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
The purpose of this session was to set a framework for group members to realize that there are different stages of grieving and that the process can be complicated. Furthermore during the session it is hoped that they will also come to recognize that no two persons share the same path when grieving. However, there is still a common experience that some people share which is the loss which can lead to feelings of low self-esteem. ‘This will be done through Impact therapy where they will be encouraged to be active, thinking, seeing and experiencing during the session activities’ (Jacobs Ed, Schimmel J. Christine 2013).