...to Cope with Grief and Loss Grief and loss are inevitable experiences that affect the older adult. Grief is defined as “the emotional response to a loss or death” (Yancey & Hunter, 2014, p. 449). As adults age their friends gradually die, they may outlive older generations of their family, health may deteriorate, and abilities and independence may diminish. The loss of loved ones, health, and independence, among many other losses, can give rise to grief in the older adult. Grief is a natural response to loss. While some can adjust to the conditions of loss in others it can intensify to the point where the individual is unable to cope with the loss (Gibson, 2012). The inability to cope with grief can yield undesirable effects such as: depression, anxiety, insomnia, increased use of alcohol or drugs, and decreased social interaction (Potocky, 1993). This is why it is necessary for the nurse to facilitate the grieving process. Jean Watson’s theory contains relevant concepts that nurses can incorporate into their care of the older adult experiencing grief. Nurses can fulfill their role in facilitating the grief process through the application of therapeutic communication techniques in the appraisal of grief, by preventing isolation through social support, and promoting hope as a coping strategy. The use of therapeutic communication techniques will aid the nurse in making a valid appraisal of the patient’s grief. This involves assessing the value of the patients loss; in other words...
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...Dee Adams October 5, 2014 PSY-100 Grief, Loss and Finding Meaning and Purpose According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term “grief” is defined as: a deep sadness caused especially by someone’s death; trouble or annoyance. In today’s culture and society, when we hear this term, it is often associated with the passing of a loved one. Though a very familiar terminology in culture and society, it is sometimes known but rarely understood. When it comes to the loss of a loved one or someone special in a person’s life, how one deals with and recovers from that is called the bereavement process. The approach to death and grief can be widely vast in the way a person reacts or expresses their grief during their rough time. Both grief and bereavement encompass a range of feelings from deep sadness to anger, and the process of adapting to a significant loss can vary dramatically from one person to another, depending on his or her background, beliefs, relationships to what was lost, and other factors. Grief is associated with feelings of sadness, guilt, regret, anger and so many others. The thought process during the grief process can also be challenging and difficult and can also range in its expression. Thoughts can vary from “there’s nothing I can do about it” to “it’s all my fault.” Grieving behaviors can shift from crying to laughter, and from sharing feelings to engaging silently in acts such as writing or exercising. One of the biggest issues associated with coping with...
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...KUBLER-ROSS GRIEVING PROCESS “THE BUCKET LIST” Nursing Fundamentals Mrs. Hartman By: Cecelia Z. Harrison 02/25/12 There are five stages of grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. With these stages come the knowledge of grief and its effects on us which equips us to cope with life and loss. These stages are responses to loss that many people have, but there is not a typical response to loss as there is no typical loss. Our grief is as individual as our lives. The five stages are, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance which is the foundation of learning to live with the “lost”. They are tools to help us identify what we may be feeling. Not everyone goes through all of them nor do they go through them in a set order. Denial is the first stage of grieving in this stage the world becomes meaningless and overwhelming. Life makes no sense. We are in a state of shock and denial. We go numb. We wonder how we can go on, if we can go on, why we should go on. We try to find a way to simply get through each day. Denial and shock help us to cope and make survival possible. Denial helps us to pace our feelings of grief. There is a grace in denial. It is nature’s way of letting in only as much as we can handle. As you accept the reality of the loss and start to ask yourself questions, you are unknowingly beginning the healing process. You are becoming stronger, and the denial is beginning to fade. But as you proceed, all the feelings you...
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...Anjana Khadka Student ID No: S00133749 Discuss how developmental factors are important in the way a 5 year old child conceptualizes and responds to loss. Introduction Almost every person in the world, at one time or another, experiences events that can be considered major losses (Harvey and Weber 1998). Loss weather personal, material, or symbolic will affect us all, children too can face different levels and types of losses (Hooyman and Kramer, 2006; Viorist, 1986) cited in The Person Health and Wellbeing,(1st ed.,pp.211). There is a misconception in our society that children cannot understand or have little knowledge about death. But children of various ages and stages understand death and loss in different ways. (TRAUMA AND LOSS: Research and Interventions, Volume 3, Number 1, 2003) Jean Piaget cognitive stages of development in children are proved to be very important in children’s understanding of death, dying and grief. Childhood grief and development factors are interrelated: the age and stage of development of a child at the time of his or her parent’s death will strongly influence the ways in which the child reacts and adapts to the loss.( Garber, 1988, p. 272) The Death of a Parent: Healing Children’s Grief September( 3rd, 2009);Beth Patterson, MA, LP) A child Understanding of Death A child understanding of death occurs in the age 5-7, when according to Piaget’s theory child progress through preoperational stage of development to concrete-operational stage. (Kenyon...
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...answer my preliminary question “How to deal with loss and grief in the workplace?” There are several articles and stories that have been addressed in this paper that deals with loss and grief in the workplace. This literature review explores what grief is, its processes, the different impacts loss and grief have on the workplace, and the various ways to cope up with the grieving process – from the bereaved, co-workers, and employer’s perspective. Introduction People can experience personal and professional losses from many different sources. Losses can result from a death or any significant life-changing event such as job loss, relationship loss, loss of home, the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease and other more private losses like experiencing a miscarriage (Dr. Kristi Dyer, 2009). Understandably, grief, the response to these losses, can and most often does follow employees and employers alike into the workplace, affecting people's work performance on several different levels (Dr. Kristi Dyer, 2009). What is Grief and it’s Process? Grief is a natural painful response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering an individual feels when something or someone he loves is taken away. Like all other emotions it can be unpredictable and usually incorporates sadness, fear, and guilt after any particular loss. If someone associates grief with the death of a loved one, this type of loss often causes the most intense grief that incorporates unbearable pain to the bereaved...
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...restructuring and downsizing. It focused on middle level managers and employees in supervisory positions because survivors of this group are often called upon to assume expanded roles, functions and responsibilities in a post restructuring and downsizing environment. This paper also explores the impact of recession for those still in employment by looking at a key indicator of employee wellbeing, work pressure staff reductions and company reorganization both increase work pressure, as does current job insecurity. Other job changes, like large pay cuts, increases in responsibility, autonomy and monitoring also increase work pressure. Keywords: Recession, downsizing, layoffs, economic downturns, organizational behavior, commitment, motivation, loss and grief, leaders, employees, stakeholders. 2 INTRODUCTION The great recession of 2007 started on the month of December. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the prestigious private research institute declared it officially. The government of US acknowledged the NBER's declaration, aware of the downfall since August 2007; the White House did not change its course on coping with the financial crisis. This was the third longest since The Great Depression. The Great recession in the US damaged greatly in 2007 since the 1930s. At least 8 million jobs were lost $10 trillion dollars of wealth lost in US Closure of hundreds of banks According to RealityTrac. Inc., the Great Recession caused 2.5 million homes to be foreclosed on...
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...Research Review: Working Through Grief and Loss Research Review: Working Through Grief and Loss: Oncology Nurses Perspectives on Professional Bereavement By: Lara Grinceri, RN Grand Canyon University Background The purpose of this article is to look at the role of Professional Oncology Nurse, their obstacles to care, in terms of grief and loss, and determine possible supportive interventions. [ (Jennifer Wenzel, 2011) ] As the oncology patient population continues to grow, so does the demand for experienced, expertly trained oncology nurses. The role of the oncology nurse is challenged by many outside forces, such as increased workloads, heightened patient acuity and complexity, and repeated contacts with suffering patients and caregivers. [ (Jennifer Wenzel, 2011) ]. Due to the nature of their role, these specialized nurses are a limited resource, and due to the high emotional complexity of their patients, can result in a higher than normal turnover rate. This is often in the form of burn-out or compassion fatigue from the constant interactions with death or dying situations. It is critical for nursing to recognize and identify the emotional, as well as physical, barriers to care, and intervene before burnout or compassion fatigue is able to occur. This study looks at the collaboration of a mid-Atlantic University NCI (National Cancer Institute) teaching hospital and affiliated school of nursing , to research their oncology nursing population, and create a...
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...combination of physical, psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual factors. Culture, identity and personal beliefs all have a profound impact on an individual’s choices in the context of dying process. Ethnicity, cultural differences, religion, personal beliefs, individual preferences and choices etc can all affect care needs and social practice at the end of life. People’s experiences of illness and death, as well as beliefs about the appropriate role of healers, are profoundly influenced by patient’s cultural background. This assignment will provide a brief discussion of the beliefs, customs and rituals associated with death, dying and the grieving process in the Jewish culture and discuss the associated theoretical principles of a grief and loss theorist named J. W. Worden. Also while discussing the challenges in applying this theory to the Jewish culture, in an acute care setting. Jewish cultural beliefs have developed a traditional system of mourning concerning death and burial. The Jewish community views deaths as an ending of life, rather than as a beginning of another. Jewish funeral and mourning rituals are centered around respect for the dead. The body is buried within 24-48 hours, so the soul can be returned to God and the body is never left alone until burial (Smith-Gabai & Ludwig, 2011). The body is not cremated, but left to decay in a natural process to return it to God in the best condition possible. Traditional Jewish funeral and burial rituals stem from...
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...Grief Counseling, Counselor Competence, and a Christian Perspective Liberty University Abstract Grief is a common universal experience that everyone is faced with at some point in their lives. In today’s society, more people are turning to professional grief counselors for help dealing with his or her loss through acceptance in order to move forward in their lives. Different types of grief are discussed, as well as different strategies, interventions, and techniques used depending of the level of distress. Everyone handles grief differently and grieves in different ways for different lengths of time, requiring different counseling interventions. Grief counseling classes or training is not currently a part of curriculum guidelines, leaving the question “Are grief counselors competent to counsel grieving individuals?” This question is answered, and the benefit of trained grief counselors is explored. In a culturally diverse world, counselor consideration of culture is equally important in grief counseling. The paper ends with a Biblical and Christian Counselor perspective on grief counseling theories and practices. Grief Counseling, Counselor Competence, and a Christian Perspective Grief occurs in response to a loss including death, separation from a loved one, losing a job, kids leaving home, divorce, or a move. It is a natural response to death or loss. Ober, Granello, and Wheaton (2012) define grief as, “the emotion generated by an experience of...
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...Coping with the loss of someone or something you love is one of life’s biggest challenges. Often, the pain of loss can feel overwhelming. You may experience all kinds of difficult and unexpected emotions, from shock or anger to disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness. The pain of grief can also disrupt your physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think straight. These are normal reactions to significant loss. But while there is no right or wrong way to grieve, there are healthy ways to cope with the pain that, in time, can ease your sadness and help you come to terms with your loss, find new meaning, and move on with your life. What you can do Acknowledge your pain Accept that grief can trigger many different and unexpected...
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...Dying and Death—Extreme Grief Reactions to loss of a love one cannot be defined by a one size fits all statement, even though it is a common experience shared by man. Grief is in fact a process. One of the most widely accepted models of the grieving process is the concept of the five stages of grief that includes: (Bonanno, 2009) 1. “Denial and Isolation: first, we tend to deny the loss, and may withdraw from usual social contacts. 2. Anger: The grieving person may become furious at the person who inflicted the hurt (even if she's dead), or the world, for letting it happen. They may be angry with themselves for letting the event take place, even if, realistically, nothing could have stopped it. 3. Bargaining: the grieving person may make bargains with God, asking, "If I do this, will you take away the loss?" 4. Depression: The person feels numb, although anger and sadness may remain underneath. 5. Acceptance: This is when the anger, sadness and mourning have tapered off. The person simply accepts the reality of the loss” (Kubler-Ross, E.2005) These stages have no set pattern or pace of occurrence and cannot be forced upon the griever. The griever may go one step forward then take two steps backward. Should a person remain stuck in one stage or the other, the process of grieving cannot be complete resulting in what has been coined by the Mayo Clinic as extreme or abnormal grief. In abnormal or extreme grief healing is not achieved. This essay will provide...
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...CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Grief was not a subject of scholarly attention until recently. Although assumed to be experienced since the beginnings of human attachments and separations, Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was the first one to make a thorough study of grief and loss. His early paper “Mourning and Melancholia”, published in 1917, is regarded as a classic text on bereavement (Mallon, 2008). He contributed the idea that grief is not “pathological” and that grief occurs not only for the loss of a loved one but also for things, values, and statuses (Walter & McCoyd, 2009). Since then, the study of grief had been popularized. More experts have specialized in the field and more publications regarding death and grief were released. Kübler-Ross, Doka, Bowlby, and Worden are just few names who had pioneered the study of grief and other related studies. And in fact, a new field of science had been found which includes the study of grief; that is thanatology. Indeed, the study of grief was granted what academic interest it had been lacking before. The sudden spurt of studies in this field has certainly increased people’s understanding of grief in certain aspects. But it is ironic that despite being a subject of thorough research, the experience of grief remains more or less a vague occurrence which people has to go through at some point in their lives. Attempts had been made in defining grief but the definitions given by different theorists still vary to...
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...The Loss of a Life Partner The Loss of a Life Partner Introduction Feelings of loss are very personal because only the person involved in the loss knows what is significant to them. People commonly associate certain losses with strong feelings of grief. The solitude is always agonizing, especially for someone who has never lived alone. Many people lose their spouses each year. Because the modern society has few mourning rituals other than the memorial service, they may find themselves alone and disconsolate just when they are most in need of comfort. Different Kinds of Loss Loss of one’s partner can be due to various reasons including: • Death of a partner/Bereavement • Serious or dilapidating illness of a loved one If you—or your loved one—has become sick or injured, expect a number of physical, emotional and financial changes in your life. Coping with these changes can be very difficbrt, even overwhelming at times, but the following strategies may help: • Relationship breakup/Separation Relationship breakup. This involves losing a partner from a problematic relationship. Although it might seem easier to lose a partner when the relationship has been difficult or unsatisfying, the feelings of dissatisfaction can make the survivor vulnerable to guilt and second thoughts. When he/she remembers the best times of the relationship, self-blame can convince the individual that if he/she had done things differently, they could have had good times. The grief...
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...Stages of Grief Paper Grand Canyon University Death, Dying, and Grief HLT-310V Gary Shields August 22, 2015 Stages of Grief Paper Grief is explained as a response to a loss. This loss is connected to the attachment to someone or something that bonded to an individual in an emotional way. In a book called Lament for a Son, the author is the father who suffered and experienced tremendous grief after the loss of his son Eric. He explains and expresses his frustrations with death, the sorrow he felt, the yearning he had for his son, and many other emotions felt in grief. There are many references to God and His plan for salvation and death. The author published his experiences to help others with the loss of their child. He says that he tries to puts words to what they are feeling, even though there are no words that can truly explain the grief that is felt. (Wolterstorff, 1987) There are five stages of grief that individuals go through after a loss. The first stage that is experienced is denial. Kubler-Ross explains this stage as able to endure the loss. Shock and denial overcome the person. There is a feeling of numbness and ponder of how they can move forward, and why would they go on. Denial helps with coping through these thought processes and make survival possible. The denial stage paces the feelings that occur with grief. This is considered nature’s way of allowing only as much as one can handle. When an individual begins to accept the reality of their loss, the healing...
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...Individual Research Paper: Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Five Stages of Loss Xiaohan Liu Professor John C. Sivie July 11, 2013 Background Information In people’s life, it is usually to be seen that some tragedies happens. This may result in horrible experience because people have to cope with such tragedies for a long time. The tragedies may be health-related, family-related, job-related, accident-related, and so on. For example, if someone in your family is diagnosed with a chronic or terminal disease, it may be regarded as a tragedy in your life. It is not only physical accident, but also mental and emotional anguish. According to Torrey (2012), millions of new victims suffer medical mistakes and errors in healthcare every year. Hundreds of thousands die. More and more people feel debilitated for different reasons, and the medical mistakes result in life-changing, which are also tragedies. The effects of how people cope with tragedies may be a combination of physical, mental and emotional. Here is a question: if you are diagnosed with a terminal disease, or if your life quality is destroyed by a medical accident, how can you get past the anguish and grief? And what are you going to do to cope with the accident? Thus, it is necessary to have general guidelines to help you to understand and get through the grieving process, as well as set the stage to help you begin coping. Introduction The Five Stages of Grief and Loss were conducted by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in 1969 in her book...
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