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Lauren

Dec 2 at 12:28am

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Grief

In this week’s reading we touched upon the sensitive topic about loss. “Grief is the individualized and personalized emotional response that an individual makes to a real, perceived, or anticipated loss.” (Cultures and Grief, n.d.) Grief has three phases that characterized by time. Such as the early phase, middle phase and last phase. In the early phase of grief, the feelings of shock, disbelief, and denial are normal. When the middle phase comes around the person has begun to accept the reality of the loss most often after the funeral. There is intense emotions and feelings of separation, even some physical symptoms of grief. In the last phase of grief there is the balancing of emotions and reintegration to normal life. Some physical symptoms of grief are loss of appetite, fatigue, sleep loss, and crying. Some people even experience the sensation of a lump in their throats, heart palpitations, and chest tightness. Psychological symptoms of grief are feelings of sadness, guilt, anger, loneliness, and helplessness. Social response to grief depends on the type of relationship the person had with the deceased and the social roles with the relationship. Nevertheless, any loss can greatly affect a person, but widowhood is one that has massive changes in the social roles of the person’s life. In widowhood there comes the need to learn new daily living tasks that were taken care of by the deceased before. The way the person socializes will be different can be difficult if there were in a long relationship and did not have independent reaction outside of the relationship. Spiritual aspects of grief can begin with the questioning on why God would take their loved one even anger. There can be a crisis in their faith, but others may have the opposite effect. Some people will find spirituality as calming and grounding during their grief process having a sense of belonging and knowledge of where their loved ones will go. (Cultures and Grief, n.d.)

There are different kinds of grief such as anticipatory, disenfranchised, and complicated. Anticipatory grief is when the grieving process begins before the actual loss. This may be a healthy grief when it comes to the case of long terminal illnesses, even hospice patients. Disenfranchised grief is an unhealthy form of grief because it one that is not validated or recognized by others. This can cause the person to feel even more lonely and aren’t allowed to express their grieving process openly. Complicated grief is categorized into four different types, chronic, delayed, exaggerated, and masked. These four complicate the grieving process and nurses need to be aware of these factors so that they can provide the best care possible. (Cultures and Grief, n.d.)

Loss of loved ones is something we will all experience at one point in our lives the way other cultures view loss and grieve is important to know in nursing. In Native American cultures there are some similarities on rituals of the death of loved ones. Such as a medicine man or spiritual leader moderating the funeral. In Jewish death there is to be no autopsies or embalming of the bodies as it is seen as disrespectful. While in Islamic traditions with death crying loudly and openly is encouraged and seen as a way to cleanse the soul. These traditions and cultural observances must be respected to the best of the nurse’s ability. Our jobs as nurses is not just for the physical wellbeing of our patients but also the social, spiritual, and psychological care of our patients and their families. (Cultures and Grief, n.d.)

References

Cultures and Grief. (n.d.). Retrieved from Grief Speaks: http://www.griefspeaks.com/id90.html

Meiner, S. (2019). Gerontologic Nursing. St. Louis: Elsevier.

Bijoux

Module 7 Discussion

Grief could be define as a natural and expected human reaction to loss, especially to the loss of someone or something that is no longer around, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although we usually focus more on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions. A range of studies reveal the powerful effects grief can have on the body. For instance it increases inflammation, which in turns can worsen health issues that you already have. Grief affect the immune system, leaving you depleted and at risk for infection. It can increase your blood pressure and the risk of blood clots. Intense grief can alter the heart muscle so much that it causes “broken heart syndrome,” a form of heart disease with the same symptoms as a heart attack (Hariston, 2019). Emotional stress can activate the nervous system as easily as physical threats can, therefore contribute to chronic medical condition. Grief could lead to social isolation, the sense of being cut off from people and things of importance, is an experience commonly described by older adults with cancer (Meiner & Yeager, 2018). Social isolation may be voluntary or involuntary. Some people might chose to be alone in order to have time for personal reflection, psychological rebuilding, and renewal. In contrary, involuntary social isolation my have negative consequences on psychological health. There are two major psychological responses by individuals when adjusting to loss: the use of coping mechanism, and emotional reactions. Coping mechanisms helps to psychologically protect individuals and are used to reduce the level of anxiety they experience at a given moment. This allows them to better adjust to the loss and begin the grieving and healing process. Emotional responses coexist with coping mechanisms, however they do not protect the individual from the trauma of loss. They purpose is for the individual to express emotions and feelings associated with loss. For those who believe in God and religion, grief might cause them to lose their faith in God. This is the spiritual crisis that can accompany complicate grief. They may feel that God is responsible for their loss, and become angry with God, because he chose to punish them.

There are several types of grief: anticipatory grief is defined as grieving that occurs before the actual loss, it is considered normal, with uncomplicated grief reactions. It includes the process of mourning, coping, and planning, which are initiated when the impending loss of a loved one becomes apparent (Meiner & Yeager, 2018). Complicated or abnormal grief is when it progresses in an unhealthy way and does not move toward resolution. Reactions may present as one of four types: chronic, delayed, exaggerated, or masked. Disenfranchised grief is grief that is not validated or recognized by others. This type of grief is complicated because it cannot be openly expressed therefore social support is unavailable.

Base on my personal experience as a former hospice nurse the death of a child is considered tragic in every culture. In most culture, during the death and dying process of an older adult, most individuals went through the five stages of death and dying identified by Kubler-Ross, which are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In addition, in pretty much all cultures, unexpected death majority of the times lead to complicated or abnormal grief especially the death of a younger person. As healthcare providers we know that the way in which people experience and express their feelings after a loss differ across cultures. It is important to respect others beliefs when it comes to death and dying. For instance, some people might find death more bearable if they believe in a life after death.

References

Lingren, H.G. (2019). Psychological Responses To Loss. Understanding Grief and Loss.

http://www.caregiverslibrary.org/Caregivers-Resources/GRP-End-of-life-issues/HSGRP-Grief-and-loss/Psychological-Responses-To-Loss-Article

(Links to an external site.)

Meiner, S.E., Yeager, J.J. (2018). Gerontology Nursing. Elsevier, St. Louis, MO

Mendoza, M.A. (2020). Complicate Spiritual Grief. Psychology Today.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-grief/202006/complicated-spiritual-grief%3famp