The bereavement is a term that has its roots in a word from the old English dictionary that meant to rob. In the modern era the term bereavement often refers to some great loss, generally, loss referred to be the death of someone who is very close.
Mourning at death is the demonstration of one’s bereavement that is done in public. The other forms of this type of public demonstration are visiting cremation ceremonies or graveyards, attending funerals, participating in someone’s death anniversary or arranging memorial services at someone death. Grief is that emotional state of mind which a person feels at the sad demise of someone who he loved dearly.
In a book written by Dr. Elisabeth Kuber-Ross which was published in the year 1969, it was stated clearly that the bereavement that death brings has five different stages of denial, isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and at the last comes acceptance. It is believed by the health care professional that the person who is having any of his loved ones on the death bed moves along with these stages one by one but sometimes it so happens that he gets stuck in any of this phases, awaiting their grief to reach the climax. However, it can be noticed that though the feeling and the emotional phases may be the same, every bereaved person may feel it in their own way.
However, the researchers after a lot of research have concluded that human emotions are far more complicated that they really thought it to be. During their process of handling a lot of patients of bereavement, the counselors, psychotherapists, psychiatrists and the psychologists have changed their notion of the distinct phases. Now, it is a proven fact that each person has his or her own unique way to express his bereavement, and none of them matches with that of others. A person in bereavement may swing numerous times among the emotions like fear, anger, sadness, guilt without getting stuck along in a single phase and attain resolution. The reason behind the bereavement depends on a lot of factors like, the personality of an individual, how sensitive the person is, how he responds to his losses, how much was he attached to the dying person and in what circumstances the death occurred. It also depends on the fact that how much stress a person has in his daily life and how much he is supported and influenced by the people around him.
Bereavement not only brings emotional problems like isolation, confusion, anxiety but is also responsible for affecting a person’s health. A bereaved person is seen to lose weight, have a low level of concentration and even sleeplessness. Too much of grief or bereavement can even lead to the loss of memory, identity and even self-esteem. In some cases, a bereaved person has the tendency to get into the character of the dead person by adopting his nature and attitudes. He or she may even be reluctant about their appearance and feel that nothing is left for them in this world to be happy about. Though these are some forms of pathological reactions, but they are quite normal and can be controlled with the help of talk therapies by heath care professionals and support from family members and friends around. Talking to the bereaved person regularly with will out the suppressed emotions inside him and after sometimes it can be seen that the person has moved back to his normal living course.
However, complications may arise if a bereaved person shows signs of suffering from mental health problems that are more complex and cannot cope up with the feeling of loss or grief. However, a person who does not show signs of acute bereavement also suffers from a situation that is too difficult for him to handle.
The bereavement complications arise if
- The death was sudden or was caused brutally
- If the bereaved person has a history of complicated mental illness
- The bereaved person was already suffering from some additional stress when the death occurred. He or she might have been facing personal relationship problems or financial or health problem when the death occurred
- If the person who dies was the greatest and the sole support system of the bereaved
- If the bereaved person has already experienced some other bereavement in his or her recent past
Counseling for bereavement
Like all another type of counseling, the bereavement counseling too allows a person to speak for themselves, express what they feel and what they think. It is not always recommended to cheer a person to pull him out of his state of shock. It is advisable to be with him without trying to change him forcefully. Let the time take its own course, act normally and allow him to come back to the normal life all by himself.
Bereavement not only brings emotional problems like isolation, confusion, anxiety but is also responsible for affecting a person’s health. A bereaved person is seen to lose weight, have a low level of concentration and even sleeplessness. Too much of grief or bereavement can even lead to the loss of memory, identity and even self-esteem. In some cases, a bereaved person has the tendency to get into the character of the dead person by adopting his nature and attitudes. He or she may even be reluctant about their appearance and feel that nothing is left for them in this world to be happy about. Though these are some forms of pathological reactions, but they are quite normal and can be controlled with the help of talk therapies by heath care professionals and support from family members and friends around. Talking to the bereaved person regularly with will out the suppressed emotions inside him and after sometimes it can be seen that the person has moved back to his normal living course.
However, complications may arise if a bereaved person shows signs of suffering from mental health problems that are more complex and cannot cope up with the feeling of loss or grief. However, a person who does not show signs of acute bereavement also suffers from a situation that is too difficult for him to handle.
