Losing a Loved One Losing a loved one is like having the rug swept from under you. We make plans for the day, and do not think twice about how those plans can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I never thought much about it myself, until I was faced with the shock, and undeniable truth of my uncle’s death. I do not think anyone really thinks about tragedy until they are actually faced with shocking news. It is amazing how we take life for granted. The tragedy never goes away. You just learn how to cope with it and keep moving on. My mom had been going to school in Virginia and staying at my Aunt Ana’s house. She had been away for two weeks and wanted to come home for the weekend. My mom had suggested that I go back with her and visit …show more content…
I felt as if I was paralyzed, I felt that if I moved it would be real. I just had this blank look on my face. I had no reaction at first and I wanted to deny it, all of it. I kept saying to myself, no it is a lie, they made a mistake. To my complete horror I was wrong. My mom kept saying "I have got to go see Fran. I need to see with my brother" My mom ran down stairs to get ready to go, I followed her and just stood there, still paralyzed. She hugged me and said that she loved me. I had never seen my mom so panicked. She went into the bathroom to take a shower and I could still hear her sobbing through the door. I was all by myself, now. I was standing in the middle of the family room as the words "He is dead" pierced my heart like daggers of ice. I was screaming OH, GOD NO, and started to cry uncontrollably. The realization that I would never see my uncle again struck me. After I got myself under control I went and packed my things to leave with my mother. As soon as we were done we were on the next flight to New Jersey. I come from a big family with many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. As I was standing there all alone I thought back to the time when I got to spend a week with Fran. Almost a year ago to the date, most of the family was together for my other uncle's wedding. All the cousins sat at the same table and we had such a good time together. He was a busy person, he
Grief is defined as a type of emotional or mental suffering from a loss, sorrow, or regret (Dictionary.com, LLC, 2010). Grief affects people of all ages, races, and sexes around the world. Approximately, 36% of the world’s population does or has suffered from grief and only a mere 10% of these people will seek out help (Theravive, 2009). Once a person is suffering from grief it is important to receive treatment. All too often, people ignore grief resulting in deep depression, substance abuse, and other disorders (Theravive, 2009). Grief counseling is very common and can be very helpful to a person in need of assistance. Grief counseling provides the support, understanding, and
I was awaken by my mothers frantic crying. Immediatly I broke down because I already knew what that meant. My grandpa was no longer living. We rushed to hospice were his cold lifeless body was still laying in the hospital bed. Walking into that room was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. The moment we stepped into the door our family members were all circled around the hospital bed and all that was heard was weeping and crying. My mother was clearly affected the most by his death because she was the definition of a daddy’s girl. When she saw him laying there she instantly brroke down and rushed to his bedside and began talking to him as if he was alive. I remember her repeadtly saying “ I love you Wedaddy”. The look on my mothers face broke my heart. She had always been the light in a dark room. She was always the person that found a way to put a smile on everyones face. I had never seen her like this and it frightened me. Looking at my garndpa lay there lifeless and realizing I would never be able to get one of his famous hugs hurt
Also, sometimes a parent's love makes them unable to let go. I've seen so many parents put their needs above their infant's because they just can't bear to suffer the grief of losing a child. It's heartbreaking when you can see parents in total denial and you know that the end will come one way or another but they just can't accept it. I don't know if that's the case here or not, but it's certainly a possibility.
Grief counseling is a division of social work that involves the interpersonal aspect of the social worker’s role as expert in coping with death. In this paper I will define grief counseling and some ways to cope with loss. Next I will discuss the history and seven stages of grief. There are two main forms of grievers which are intuitive and instrumental. In addition there are four major types of grief which are acute, anticipatory, sudden and complicated. The helping process is explained as well as some disorders related to grief. A current trend for grievers is to seek involvement in programs such as the Canadian Cancer Society, Missing Children of Canada and Victim Services. These organizations provide counseling services and crisis
Each year thousands of teenagers experience the death of someone they love. When a parent, sibling, friend, or relative dies, teens feel the overwhelming loss of someone who helped shape their -fragile self-identities. Caring adults, whether parents, teachers, counselors or friends, can help teens during this time. If adults are open, honest and loving, experiencing the loss of someone loved can be a chance for young people to learn about both the joy and pain that comes from caring deeply for others. There are many common reactions to trauma, grief, and bereavement among teens. First of all, shock and denial. Feeling numb, stunned and dazed are healthy and normal reactions. Often, it is difficult to “take in” information. The grieved may
My siblings and I were emotional as while leaving her house the night before flying out. The thought that the next time we will see her will likely be at a funeral, was a difficult realization. Our trip and the photograph both made me appreciate life and the time that we have to spend with loved ones. The time that my family spent made Great Grandma June so happy. She told us that after our time together, she wouldn’t cry when we left, she would only remember all the wonderful memories we created that week. Our photograph will always stand as a memory and a reminder of the wonderful time we spent with Great Grandma
Grief is the natural reaction to a major loss such as the demise of a loved one. The grief has many components such as physical, emotional, social, mental, and spiritual. A person can feel grief during a serious, long-term illness or with an incurable disease. The symptoms can be a great level of depression, gloominess, guilt, and hopelessness. The common grief responses feelings include numbness, shock, anger, anxiety, loneliness, fatigue, and yearning. The other common grief responses to physical feelings such as not being able to sleep, tightness in
One insight that I gained about my own experience in addressing grief is that it has made me a stronger person; in addition, I am truly able to be more empathetic with people who have lost someone or something important to them. Being empathetic is a strong skill as a social worker, as we are working with people who may have experienced a great deal of loss in their lives. At the age of 24, I have had to attend four funerals for my grandparents. Therefore, I have experienced a lot of grief for how young I am. Learning how to cope has truly made me a stronger person. I have learned to cherish all the fantastic memories that I have with each one of my grandparents. My partner lost his uncle this past February, which was one of his first experiences losing a loved one. Because of my experience with loss, I
According to Kübler-Ross (as cited in Feldman, 2011), there are five steps taken toward death (Feldman, 2011, p. 609). These steps are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Feldman, 2011, p.615). Denial is a defense mechanism that gives the person time to adjust their thinking in-order to cope (Feldman, 2011, p. 610). Anger is a normal method of diverting pain and usually indicates an
The fourth stage is depression, the stage where one will experience feelings of emptiness and hopelessness. Some people worry that their feelings of despair will last forever. Yet this stage is
In the midst of undergoing a serious life-altering incident, one often experiences the feeling of a paradigm shift. It is amazing to see how our perspectives of the world shift when forced to reflect on what is truly important. Such is the way with death. Being near death causes a sharp realization of what is truly important in life--love of family and friends, faith in God, and making the world a better place to live in--and enables one to not merely accept this, but apply it to their life as well. All those typical, average daily worries and concerns about homework, professional careers, food, sleep, personal grooming, etc., while important and necessary in everyday life must seem unbelievably miniscule when the death has wiped ones
The loss of a loved one is a very crucial time where an individual can experience depression, somatic symptoms, grief, and sadness. What will be discussed throughout this paper is what the bereavement role is and its duration, as well as the definition of disenfranchised grief and who experiences this type of grief. I will also touch upon the four tasks of mourning and how each bereaved individual must accomplish all four tasks before mourning can be finalized. Lastly, with each of these topics, nursing implications will be outlined on how to care for bereaved individuals and their families.
Whereas when an unanticipated death happen it’s just blown you away almost literally, you had no idea it was coming and can stay in shock and denial much longer than normal because you can’t seem to make sense of the loss. Many who have lost a loved one suddenly may not be able to grab the reality of what has happen and expect
In this essay I will outline the main theoretical models relating to loss and grief.
It is unbelievable how we take things for granted. Plans are made for each day, and we do not think twice about those plans. Unfortunately, they can change in the blink of an eye. I never personally thought much about it, until I was faced with the shock and tragedy of the death