The reactions of the body to an event often experienced emotionally as sudden, violent and upsetting disturbance.
Feelings
Emotional responses
Usually occurs with sudden deaths, but may also be seen with a prolonged illness. This is a defense mechanism to allow the person tie to adjust to the situation. It is usually short term.
Shock/disbelief/denial
Can be felt for the deceased for the suffering he may have had or because he will no longer be able to experience life. This is also felt for oneself and one’s own loss.
Sadness
Even if the mourner has many other friends and is involved in different social or family activities, he may still experience feelings of this.
Loneliness
Blame directed at oneself and may be based on real or unreal conditions.- May be real or perceived. Often these feelings are exaggerated because the death does not allow the person to resolve the issue that caused this with the deceased.
Guilt
Can be directed at the person for dying and leaving, at God for not preventing the death, toward other people, or even toward oneself.
Anger
A state of tension typically characterized by rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath. An emotion characterized by a vague fear or premonition that something undesirable is going to happen.- Can range from mild insecurity to intense panic. Fear of one’s own death or fear of how life will be without the deceased person may cause this.
Anxiety
Whether considered a physical or emotional response, has a therapeutic value. It diminishes the negative effects of pent-up emotions and relieves stress.
Crying
This may cause absent-mindedness or the inability to concentrate. These thoughts may not only be of the past life of the deceased, but also fantasies about the deceased still being alive.
Preoccupation with thoughts of the deceased.
May be very distressful to a mourner and increase his feelings of guilt, fear, and anxiety. Pleasant dreams of the deceased may give the person a feeing of reassurance and calm.
Dreams/nightmares
Although these are considered by many people to be paranormal or spiritual happenings, all have a firm foundation in reality and psychology. They include seeing or hearing the deceased or feeling as though the deceased is present or directing events.
Confusing awake events
Spiritual responses
Cognitive responses (Thinking)
Behavioral responses (actions)
Physical responses
Mental responses
Normal Grief Reactions (chapter 5)
Determinants of grief (chapter 6)
Past coping behaviors (anger, physically ill, cries, turns inward with silence and introspection) is usually how one will behave in the future.- Important to know because someone who does not may may seem cold when in reality it is normal coping behavior for that individual.
This means that a person can experiences too many losses in a given period of time.- These losses do not need to be the same.- grief overload- can manifest itself in what others consider an exaggerated response to the most recent loss.
Just as someone can experience grief overload, they can also experience a state of overload from different stressful events that occur at the same time.- May not be able to react with their usual “together” response.
Part of our response, despite grief being an individual response, is determined by what is expected of us by members of important groups in our lives.-part of our behavior can be dictated and nurtured by different affiliations in our life.- Dictates can become so ingrained in our psyche that we are not even aware of their source.- Revert to what seems instinctual - What is right and appropriate for one group of people may not be the same for another group