Ever noticed an elderly couple performing normal daily activities and think to yourself, what would they do without one another? Many of us have elderly relatives who are either married or have someone with whom they have a tight bond with, such as a best friend, and we believe they keep each other alive. We are all born to die, but how we cope with death is different. When someone dies, persons affected may feel depressed, sad and even angry. Looking at death from a different perspective, such as a loved one going to a better place, instead of a loss can cause relatives to celebrate. This is usually the case when the cause of death is natural. When death of a spouse is because of a traumatic event, love ones are left with many questions that they can live with for the rest of their lives. We may continue to live normal lives once the emotional pain is suppressed. I use the term suppress, because it is not clear that anyone ever "gets over" the death of a loved one. Bereavement in the elderly can cause the partner to become lonely, fall ill, and often times die soon after. When an older adults life long partner dies, what is their mental state? According to Lund, the mental health of many older spouses is not as devastating as expected, although loneliness and problems associated with the tasks of living are the most common and difficult adjustments of the adult (Meiner, 2011). Research reported to Journal of Gerontologic Nursing (JOGN) indicates that the assessment tool, Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), can asses the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors associated with separation distress including … excessive loneliness (Barron & Minton, 2008). Additionally, another test can be done to assess the pro... ... middle of paper ... ... to make the person feel better too quick. Instead you should assist the older person through the grieving process which is normal and healthy (Meiner, 2011) Works Cited Barron, C., Minton, M. (2008). Spousal Bereavement Assessment: A Review of Bereavement- Specific Measures. Journal of Gerontologic Nursing, Vol. 34, No.8, 34-48. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Elwert, F., & Christakis, N. (2008). The Effect of Widowhood on Mortality by the Causes of Death of Both Spouses. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 98(11), 2092-2098. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Howie, L., Mcintyre, G. (2002). Adapting to Widowhood Through Meaningful Occupations: A Case Study. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, Vol. 9, 54-62. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Meiner, S. (2011). Loss and End-of-Life Issues. In P. Burbank and J. Miller (Eds.), Gerontologic Nursing (pp. 351-365)
Nuland, Sherwin. How we die: Reflections on life's final chapter. New Yord: Vintage Books, 1993. 140-63. Print.
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.
Elderly when dealing with deaht and breavement is also an extreme. An elderly is close to death as is, but his or her friends are starting to die repidly and most of all a spouse is very close to end of life.
Dealing with someone dying is not something that is going to be fun or enjoyable. Death comes to everyone, none of us can duck and dodge it. Death of natural causes is not something that can be controlled by anyone, but it is important for people to be with those that are dying. When someone you know is dying, whether they are friends or family it’s very important for them to feel loved and not alone. It is also important that the opinions and thoughts of the patient be taken into consideration because they are going through something that no one can say they relate to. In dealing with death, there are many emotions that are felt by the sick patient and their friends and family. In A Very Easy Death
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
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth and Kessler, David A. On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages. New York: Scribner, 2005. Print.
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...
Bole, William "A Slow Death." Commonweal 136.12 (2009): 7-8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 8 Nov. 2009.
Death is part of the circle of life and it's the end of your time on earth; the end of your time with your family and loved ones. Nobody wants to die, leaving their family and missing the good times your loved ones will have once you pass on. In the Mercury Reader, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross “On the Fear of Death” and Joan Didion “Afterlife” from The Year of Magical Thinking” both share common theses on death and grieving. Didion and Kübler-Ross both explain grieving and dealing with death. Steve Jobs commencement speech for Stanford’s graduation ceremony and through personal experience jumps further into death and how I feel about it. Your time is on earth is limited one day you will die and there are many ways of grieving at the death of a loved one. I believe that the fear of death and the death of a loved one will hold you back from living your own life and the fear of your own death is selfish.
Horkan, Thomas. "Legislation That Complicates Dying." Eds. Gary McCuen and Therese Boucher. Hudson: Gary McCuen Publications, 1985. 69-72.
The word grief means a reaction that an individual show particularly for losing someone or something that they are very precious. Grief can be associated with anything like loss of loved ones, relationship breakage, pet death or loss of something that is very precious. Grief is a natural reaction to loss, which is combination of an emotion and psychological response to loss (Wilson, 2012). The process of grief has some dimensions as behavioral, cultural, cognitive, social and philosophical (Sooter, Chikaraishi, & Hedges, 2014). Bereavement is the process of grieving and letting go of the loved one who has passed away. People mourn is affected by religious, belief, culture and customs (Care, 2013). The term bereavement is interlinked with the process
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.
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
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,
Iveniuk, J., Waite, L. J., Laumann, E., McClintock, M. K., & Tiedt, A. D article helps us understand some key reasons for conflict in previous or current marriages in old age. This category falls into the conflict theory because it shows how the dynamics of a marriage are affected and changed throughout illness and lack of positivity. The article showed that lack of positivity, and poor health was a main indicator for marital conflict, this leading to both divorce or depression. These findings also aid the understanding that men are better able to adapt to conflict and change thus allowing them to open themselves up into the senior dating world or even allow them to remarry with more ease if divorce or spousal death does occur due to the fact that in most cases men are more positive in dealing with spouses with poor health. This is most likely because respectable men feel the need to protect their loved ones while woman feel the need to protect their title as a mother, wife or simply woman. This allows this catagory to also fall under the labeling theory and also role theory as our self identity influence and determine our behaviour. If a woman views herself as a stressed individual she will carry out the attitudes and behaviors of a stressed individual. Woman carry a huge role as a “marri...