Important Terms - Bereavement: The status of having lost aa family member, friend, colleague, or other Significant person through death - An objective fact - A change in status - An outcome of large-scale social phenomena - Grief: The complex emotional, mental, social, and physical response to the death of a loved One - How the survivor thinks, eats, sleeps, and makes it through the day - Can cause insomnia, failures of memory, absentmindedness, and tendency to do Things over and over - Mourning: The culturally patterned expression of the bereaved person’s thoughts and Feelings - An example of mourning would be wearing black clothes - Customs vary between cultures - Mourning can still occur long after grief has dissipated - Anticipatory grief: Anxiety and sorrow experienced prior to an unexpected death - Is an overlooked trauma - Can include depression, helplessness, anger, guilt, rage, anxiety, and fear Five Stages of Grief - Denial - Anger - Bargaining - Depression - Acceptance How to cope with Death Personally - Beath may be seen as a natural part of life, but many will still experience shock and Confusion when it occurs in their lives. - Coping with death can be different for everyone. People may experience. - Mental reactions - Physical reactions - Social reactions - Emotional reactions Age Differences of Coping - Depending on what age you are, a person will experience the death of a loved one in all Different ways - Children can feel the impact of a death as young as birth - They express their emotions differently which makes coping different for every age group Infant (Birth – 2) - They have no understanding of death but experience separation - Can grieve if absence of parent or caretaker - May react with increased crying, decreased responsiveness, and changes in them Eating or sleeping - Mostly affected by the sadness of the people they are surrounded with Pre-school (3-6) - They are curious about death and may believe it to be temporary or reversible; can see it as Sleeping - Can often feel guilty or feel they are responsible for the death because they were “bad.” - Can not put their feelings into words and react through behaviors, irritability, aggression, Physical symptoms, or regression Child (6 -12) - Understand that death is final; may view it as a ghost, skeleton, or spirit - By age 10, they understand it happens to everyone and is unavoidable - May experience a range of emotions, guilt, anger, shame, blame - They may struggle to talk about their feelings - They may worry about who will take care of them, feelings of insecurity and abandonment Adolescent (12-18) - Have an adult understanding of death but do not have the experience and coping skills of An adult - May act out in anger and engage in impulsive behaviors; substance abuse, fighting in school, Sexual promiscuity - May not know how to handle their wide range of emotions - May not be receptive to support from family due to their need to be independent - May question their faith and understanding of the world Treatment of coping Children and Adolescents - When talking about death, use simple, clear words - Listen and comfort - Put emotions into words - Tell your child what to expect - Talk about funeral and rituals - Give your child a role - Help your child remember the person - Respond to emotions with comfort and reassurance - Help your child feel better - Give your child time to heal from the loss Adult coping - Reactions to death depend on your relationship with the person and the circumstances Surrounding their death - A child’s death - A souse’s death - Elderly people - A death due to suicide - Seek out caring people - Express your feelings - Take care of your health - Accept that life is for the living - Postpone major life changes - Be patient - Seek out help when needed Geriatric Coping - They can experience bereavement overload when they have a loss after loss which can tax Their ability to cope. - Reactivated grief – Previous losses decrease the amount of emotional energy available to Respond fully to another death. - Since they have experienced many losses, they can adopt the mindset of not caring about Anybody or anything else to avoid experiencing the feeling of loss again. - Overall, it is more positive than one would assume - Elderly people have more effective coping skills - They can maintain their health and remaining interpersonal relationships - They still find meaning and satisfaction in life Mourning your loved one - Talk about the death of your loved one - Accept your feelings - Take care of yourself and your family - Reach out and help other dealing with the loss - Remember and celebrate the life of your loved one Seeking Help - There is not a “normal” time to recover from a loss - Can take months or years - Most people can get through the loss of a loved one when they have a support System and healthy habits - Humans are naturally resilient and can endure loss and continue with Their lives - This is not the case for everyone Some may find it difficult to cope with death of a loved one And may struggle to get through daily activities. - It is okay, and is encouraged to seek a licensed mental health professional to facilitate the Process of grief - They can help build resilience, develop coping strategies, and include psychotherapy Communication: Interpersonal Relationships and Cultures When Dealing with Death - Culture always differ and, in most cases, we can determine someone’s culture either as Individualistic or collectivistic - It is important to not that when dealing with someone who may come from a different Culture than you do - Culture plays a very big role on how family members view death and how they cope with Death and their beliefs about death - Rituals regarding death - Ceremonies are performed before or after death - Body is either cleansed and dressed and either buried or cremated - Expressed publicly or privately - Wailing, crying, alone - Everyone of every age and gender view death differently - How long a family grieves - Honoring the dead