Death like life is an inevitable occurrence in the human experience and according to Sigmund Freud, “Although we know that after such a loss the acute state of mourning will subside, we also know we shall remain inconsolable and will never find a substitute”. Hence, the management of the effects of death becomes necessary to the healing of the human spirit as one tries to cope with the extensive loss and pain associated with losing a loved one. Freud further stated that this gap result in the only way of perpetuating love which we do not want to let go of. This “gap”, according to Freud, has a great impact on the psychological and spiritual well being of human beings and as such the study of Sudden Death is essential to the modern Counselor and clinician.
Sudden death is synonymous with unexpected death and usually excludes death by natural causes. The medico-legal term “sudden death” (sometimes called "sudden unexpected natural death"), refers to those deaths which are not preceded by significant symptoms. The term as used obviously excludes violent or traumatic deaths. There is no universally accepted definition of sudden death, and time periods varying from one to forty-eight hours have been used in different places. The World Health Organization’s (WHO), definition of sudden death is one that occurs within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. This definition is commonly used in Jamaica. It can occur in infants and adult alike and in any environment. When this occurs, the sudden death of someone we love is the most painful emotional experience. It’s an event that changes our psychological landscape because our personal world can never be the same again without the person that we loved in a unique and specific way; such a loss a...
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Conclusively, it is noted that “Often the journey of aftermath of sudden death such as suicide is depicted as a descent into a valley, the bottom of the valley being the depth of sorrow. This valley is not the peaceful valley of rest, but one that comes as a result of tumbling down a deep emotional and spiritual incline and landing on a more troubled plateau for a time before ascending” (McCall 2004, 43) These words aptly describes the state of the aftermath of sudden death such as suicide, and as a direct consequence, the interventions that are employed to alleviate the pain of relational loss and grieving, must be adequately tailored in order to achieve the desired results. This will certainly assist in restoring the victim’s survivors to a state of balance or equilibrium.
As in the stages of change, pre-contemplation or denial is followed by the slow understanding that a profound alteration in our lives is occurring. In this early stage, Deits encourages the reader to focus on the immediate personal needs of the grief stricken. Early in this pr...
Sakinofsky, I. (2007). The Aftermath of Suicide: Managing Survivors' Bereavement. Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, 52129S-136S.
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
In 1969 Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a psychiatrist, published the Pioneering book On Death and Dying. The work acquainted the world with the grieving process, called the five stages of grief. Kübler-Ross gathered her research from studying individuals with terminal cancer (Johnson, 2007). The first stage of the grieving process is denial. In this stage the person refuses to believe that their loved one is deceased, a common thought during this period is, “This can’t be happening to me” (Johnson, 2007).The second stage of the grieving process is anger. In this level the person becomes frustrated with their circumstances, a customary complaint is “Why is this happening to me?” (Johnson, 2007). The third stage of the grieving process is bargaining. At this point the individual hopes that they can prevent their grief, this typically involves bartering with a higher power, and an ordinary observance during this time is “I will do anything to have them back” (Johnson, 2007). The fourth and most identifiable stage of grief is depression. This phase is habitually the lengthiest as...
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.
In a study released by Brown University, their psychology department shed some light on common myths and facts surrounded suicide. These m...
Throughout the history of mankind there are two main things that are guaranteed in life, taxes and death. According to researchers at Hebrews For Christians, 56,000,000 people die each year, (Parson, 2014). Many of these people die at ripe old ages while there are a plethora of young people who die slow and tragic deaths. When death occurs many people are not prepared and therefore many devastating things can result from this. People usually experience problems with their emotions, they will stress over a number of situations, and many health issues will arise. Many people become depressed for long periods of time and give up on life. Although there are people who take these experiences to heart, there are many ways a person can deal with these problems. Dealing with these problems in a healthy manner, can lead to a very healthy healing process for everyone who is being affected by it. In this research paper I will discuss three main keys points. The first key point I will discuss the stages of death in the Kubler - Ross Model. Secondly I will discuss is the psychological effect of how death can effect people in many different ways. Third and final, I will show you many different ways a person can deal with grief.
John L McIntosh. (2003) . Handbook of Death and Dying. Volume 1: The Presence of Death. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference.
Death is sometimes considered unthinkable. People do not wish to think of loved ones dying. When someone close to us dies we are over come with sadness. We wish we had more time with them. Their death shows us the importance of that person’s role in our lives. We begin to think of how we will live our lives without them. We think of all the moments we shared with them, they live again in our memories. Perhaps death is considered unthinkable because we fe...
Suicide AwarenessVoices of Education (SAVE) proclaims, “When a person faces his grief, allows his feelings to come, speaks of his grief...it is then that the focus is to move from death and dying and to promote...
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the most frequent cause of death between 1 month and 1 year of age (Naeye). SIDS is defined as the sudden death of any infant or young child that is unexpected by it’s history, and in which a thorough postmortem examination fails to determine an adequate cause (Hunt 1987). It is important to consider both aspects of this definition in order not to ‘overdiagnose’ SIDS. A mistake of this nature would occur with failure to report a previous history of seizures, or if at the time of the autopsy a differentiation between suffocation due to rebreathing and SIDS was not made (Kemp 1993). One of the major characteristics of SIDS is that of ‘silent death’, which occurs during a sleep period. The majority of SIDS cases are between 1-6 months, with the peak occurrence being between 2-4 months. Boys are affected more often than girls (Becker, 1990).
Leming, M., & Dickinson, G. (2011). Understanding dying, death, & bereavement. (7th ed., pp. 471-4). Belmont, California: Wadsworth.
The stages of death are known to be a process of mourning that is experienced by individuals from all phases of life. This mourning ensues from an individual’s own death or the death of a loved one. Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross dedicated much of her career to studying this dying process and in turn created the five stages of death. The five stages are; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. These stages may not occur in sequence and sometimes may intersect with one another (Axelrod, 2006). The reality of death many times causes a feeling of denial; this is known as the first stage. In this stage, people have many emotions and have a tendency to hide from reality. This reaction is momentary, but should not be rushed. The patient or loved one needs time to adjust to the awaiting death. This adjustment helps bring them through to the next stage; anger. Anger is a common feeling and many times routes from a feeling of not being ready. This emotion may be directed toward God, strangers, friends, family or even healthcare professionals (Purcell, 2006). In some cases, it can be targeted...
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.
The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s society or culture. For it is the society that has great impact on the individual’s beliefs. Hence, it is also possible for other cultures to influence the people of a different culture on such comprehensions. The primary and traditional way men and women have made dying a less depressing and disturbing idea is though religion. Various religions offer the comforting conception of death as a begining for another life or perhaps a continuation for the former.