...states that “while the end of life experience is universal, the behaviors associated with expressing grief are very much culturally bound.” Dying is indeed the last event in all humans’ lives, whether it is by natural causes, suicide or murder. However, how family and friends deal with the loss of a lost one is deeply personal and cultural. For some, funerals are a way to celebrate the life of the deceased, for others it is the moment to say the last goodbyes. In this part, I will make a distinction between mourning and grieving based on the following definitions from the article “Grief and Mourning in Cross-Cultural Perspective” “grief is a subjective state, a...
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...the people most directly affected will suffer detrimental effects on their physical and/or mental health (Jacobs 1993). What is Grief and it’s Stages Grief refers to the psychological reaction to the bereavement, the death of a loved one. When a person dies who has been a close companion and with whom we have had a close bond with, many changes in our life have to be taken in. Death of a long-term partner can force on us a need to redefine ourselves and it is not an easy task. Grief becomes a problem when someone gets stuck in grief, this is know as “complicated grief” or “chronic grief”. Factors that contribute to this include a lack of family support and remaining overly focused on past memories. Returning to normal everyday activities is the most obvious sign that the grieving stage is over. Grieving becomes problematic when it lasts longer than six months. Signs of this include loneliness, emptiness, regret, not acknowledging the death, and avoiding places that would be reminders of the deceased person. It is only problematic if these symptoms are excessive and interfere with normal everyday life. Grief is not an illness and usually does not require medication or treatment. Grief is a normal response, so it isn’t necessarily desirable to eliminate grief even though it is a normal emotional adjustment. There are a few stages of grief and it all begins with numbness, which takes place immediately after the death, and this phase can last for hours and...
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...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 the importance of honoring the dead and the process of life and death. When a member of the Jewish community dies, it is...
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...The death of a loved one can be heartbreaking. Though everyone experiences and reacts to loss in their own unique way, when feelings of grief persist or intensify over an extended period of time, they can have a profound effect on the individual’s physical and mental well-bing. Below, the behavioral health professionals at Savoy Medical Center in Mamou, LA discuss the point at which mourning evolves into mental illness. When Mourning Becomes a Mental Illness The process of mourning has no set timeline: some people grieve for weeks, whereas others may mourn a loss for several months. The extent and length of grief will generally depend on the individual, their relationship to the deceased, the circumstances surrounding the death, and a variety...
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...The Twelfth Night, Or What You Will is a reflection of how Shakespeare felt and his state of mind after the death of his son, Hamnet. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night has characters that are in mourning similar to Shakespeare’s mourning, the characters were inspired by his grief, and this means he is the acceptance stage of grief. Twelfth Night is a comedy about Viola, who pretends to be a man to survive in the new land she has shipwrecked upon. She is sent by the Duke Orsino, whom she has fallen for, to plead his love to Olivia, who is deep in mourning. Olivia falls for Viola, AKA: Cesario. This creates an awkward love triangle, especially when Viola’s brother, Sebastian turns out to be alive and is mistaken for Cesario. Malvolio, Olivia’s steward, is tricked by Olivia’s uncle, Sir Toby, and her maid, Maria. Everything is eventually sorted out, and the twin siblings reunite happily. Sebastian...
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...A Discussion about Death Jeff Tiedemann May 14, 2011 Grand Canyon University The following paper will be part interview and part essay. A local funeral director was interviewed about final preparations, the purpose of a modern funeral, how people cope with death, and unusual request for funeral services. A brief discussion how some modern funeral traditions were originated and why death is almost always attached to fear will also be addressed. Death is still reacted to with fear even with all the modern scientific and medical knowledge that is available to our society. Since no one has ever died and returned to tell about what death is really like, we as humans have a natural fear of what is not understood or cannot be controlled (www.wyfda.org 1). The typical response to death is avoidance because death is not a pleasant topic of conversation. Most speak of people dying and not focusing on themselves. Fear has been a response to death since primitive times; this fear started the first burial rituals, that were meant to protect the lining from the spirits, which caused the death (1). Along with the burning of corpses to destroy evil spirits, some cultures would eat the deceased as a show of respect to the person who died (www.anthropology.uwaterloo.ca 2). The fear of the dead carried over into religious thought and sacrifices of all kinds were made in honor of the dead and to appease the spirits. A modern funeral for most cultures is a spiritual experience. According...
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...Stages of Grief Student Name Institution Stages of Grief The stages of grief and mourning are universal and every person in all lifestyles. Mourning and grief occurs in response to an individual’s own terminal illness, death of a loved one, and the loss of close relationship. Grief cans occur in five main stages such as denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages may occur in no neat progression, as these stages may keep on hitting back or just occur out of order. Consequently, the endeavor of this paper is to evaluate the various stages of grief as exhibited in “Lament for a Son” by Nicholas Wolterstorff. Denial and isolation marks the first stage of grief as Nicholas exhibits (David, Et al, Elisabeth, 2014). In this stage, Nicholas tries to deny the reality of the situation. After receiving the call meant to inform him of death of Eric, he goes to moment of silence where he dives into a sea of flashback of life he had spent with Eric. He remembers how Erick liked to worship with a genuine community and even sometimes asked him how they could know that God ever existed. He is unable to come into terms that Erick is no longer there. In his wild of flashback, he remembers how Erick used to cook, dress, and shook his hands, He himself wished he could die in order not see the inscapes of the world. Anger precedes denial and isolation as another stage of grief. In this stage, reality of the loss and pain it bring re-merges. Consequently...
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...DISENFRANCHISED In life, there are certain situations in which an individual's grief is not recognized and unacknowledged by others, a phenomenon that has been termed disenfranchised grief. These individuals are denied the "right to grief" and are not offered social support, sympathy, or opportunities to express their emotions. Disenfranchised grief is more actively negative and destructive as it involves denial of entitlement. Disenfranchising messages actively discount, dismiss, disapprove, discourage, and invalidate, the experiences and efforts of grieving. And disenfranchising behaviors interfere with the exercise of the right to grieve by withholding permission, disallowing, constraining, hindering, and even prohibiting it. ( Attig ). Kenneth Doka defined disenfranchised grief as the grief that people experience from a loss that is not, or cannot be, openly acknowledged, publicly mourned, or socially supported. There is a wide range of multiple losses that people experience on a daily basis that fits into a disenfranchised grief framework. These losses can range from changes in jobs and friendships to loss of a lover, through divorce or the death of a pet or due to the physical or emotional changes to a loved one brought on by conditions such as AIDS or Alzheimer's disease. In each case, where there was once an attachment, there soon follows a loss and its accompanying grief. The grief process, however, becomes more complex because the usual supports that facilitate...
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...Understanding Grief: Exploring Types, Responses, and Coping Mechanisms Justin Miller College of Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University PSY-358: Adult Development and Aging Darlene Kwett 04/28/2024 Introduction Grief, an intricate and deeply personal experience, is an emotional response triggered by significant loss. It transcends mere sorrow, encompassing a wide spectrum of emotions such as sadness, anger, guilt, and despair. Beyond the emotional realm, grief often manifests in physical symptoms, disrupting daily life with fatigue, loss of appetite, and sleep disturbances. Importantly, grief is not confined to the death of a loved one, but extends to other profound losses, including the dissolution of relationships, job loss, or declining...
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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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...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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...Even though grief, mourning, and bereavement are interconnected, they are all different in its unique ways, it demonstrates what the person feels when death has occurred, how the person copes with death. People deal with grief, mourning, and bereavement differently because everyone has different religion and cultures and have their own ideas and rituals about death. In the poem, Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye, demonstrates that some of the wishes of a person who dies is not seeing their loved one cry on their grave or be sad in any way and to remember that they will always be there with them even if it’s not physically. Kastenbaum states, “that we are bereaved when a person close to us dies” (Kastenbaum, 342)....
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...previous death. When a person is close to death, family members and monks recite scriptures and mantras. By doing so, they help the dying person to achieve a peaceful state of mind. In Judaism, life is valued above all else. Since all mankind is descended from a single person, taking a life is like destroying an entire world while saving a life is like saving an entire world. Death is not viewed as a tragedy, even when it occurs early in life or through unfortunate circumstances. Death is seen as a natural process. Death, like life has meaning and is part of a divine plan. Jews have a firm belief in an afterlife where those who have lived a worthy life will be rewarded. Mourning practices in Judaism are extensive, but they are not an expression of fear or distaste for death. Jewish practices relating to death and mourning have two purposes: to show respect for the dead and to comfort the living who will miss the deceased. In Catholicism, on the other hand, welcome death as the gateway to eternal life - a different kind of life. The body’s death marks a transition to a new condition which they hope will be immeasurably better than the agony of this life. They stand by their faith which is rooted in the belief that God made us to enjoy eternal life with him. As St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the great teachers of the Church, wrote: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” The Catholic understanding of death is inseparable from the Catholic...
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...lifetime. Once the bonds are broken as a result of death and dying, majority of the human beings will go through a period of mourning. There are multiple aspects that can contribute to the way an individual mourns the death of loved ones, however, gender plays a leading role in the human being’s reaction. I am going to show this by examining the natural stimuli, historic stimuli and social stimuli. In my opinion I feel that the way in which human beings mourn is most times unique to that individual and should not be compared to anyone else’s. In view of that, no human being should be judged by another individual’s personal experiences (Kahane 49). Many individuals mourn in different ways and this is heavily related to the gender of the individual. Gender is very influential on an individual’s awareness of mourning, knowledge of mourning and the individual’s display of mourning. For that reason, males and females most times do not require the same needs during their period of mourning because their reaction to the loss of their loved ones vary (Huang 4-29). The difference in males and females mourning is influenced by numerous natural stimuli, historic stimuli and social stimuli and I believe that if both genders are more knowledgeable of the other gender’s requirements, desires and expectations they would be more helpful to each other during their mourning periods. Furthermost, males and females both have some masculine and feminine traits which does not provide a clear contrast...
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...the healthcare field. For the loved ones that are left behind, grief and mourning are universal emotions that are experienced when coping with a loss of such magnitude (Axelrod, 2014). The writer will address the five stages of grief as experienced throughout Lament for a son, written by Nicholas Wolterstoff, who lost his twenty-five year old son in a mountain climbing accident. The Five Stages of Death Life and death are two aspects of the same reality (Corr & Corr, 2012). Bereavement is the period of mourning and grief that occurs after the death of a loved one. How one expresses their grief is unique to each individual. According to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1969), there are five stages of grief as described in her book On Death and Dying. The first stage is denial, which is the response experienced when an individual first learns of the death of their loved one. The second stage is anger, which includes one becoming angry at God and asking Him why did this happen to their loved one. The third stage is bargaining, which can range from the survivor thinking if things went differently, the individual would still be alive to bargaining with God, that if He allowed their dying loved one to live, they would change their ways. The fourth stage is depression, due to despair, the survivor may desire giving up on life because their loved one is gone, now perceiving life as bleak and pointless. The fifth stage of grief is acceptance, in which the individual comes to terms with the...
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