Bereavement In Family System Theory

Abstract The death of a loved one can create a great toll on a family; it has a devastating effect on them. Everyone can experience grief in various different ways, however there are aspects of grief that can transform into a life threatening situation. This essay will discuss the various effect that each family member will encounter and what can occur if matters do not get resolved in a professional way. Death is an unwelcoming event but it is the nature of life, when losing a loved one people tend to go through lengthy phases: denial, anger, depression, and acceptance. Meanwhile, the depression phase of a normal grieving process and the phase of clinical depression can be tough to see the differences. This essay will be constructed on bereavement adjustment in the family system theory.

Introduction Losing someone in their family is what a lot of people fear the most, either if it’s a parent or child, people tend to fear their death
more than their own. However, when losing an individual who plays a huge role in a person’s life people will normally go through stages of grief. Nevertheless, others may experience clinical depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and abnormal grieving. It is important to study this issue because it crucial to understand the signs when a death of a family member effects a person greatly enough, that they are in need of professional help. When analyzing a normal grieving process to an abnormal grieving process symptoms can and will be similar. Therefore, it is important to study this cause because people are on the verge of their own death and no one realizes. People suffering from depression due to a death can isolate themselves from society. They may be having suicidal thoughts, difficulty concentrating on everyday tasks, remembering details, decreased energy, insomnia, suicide attempts, and persistent pains, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment. When studying this devastating cause it puts others in a different perspective when someone they know is going through a great lost. People would realize signs and what know how to deal with a person suffering from the trauma.

Literature Review - The Effect of Death on the Family The effect of death on the family can impact the family system in numerous ways. When a family experience a death of a loved one they go into great shock; however when a family mourns a death they go through five steps of grief. Furthermore, some family members get stuck in a phase and may have the chance of developing a life threatening mental illness. Each member of the family experience each phases of grieving at a different time.
Normally, a person would first experience denial and isolation. Denial has been misunderstood for many years, for a suffering individual they cannot fathom reality anymore. A person suffering a death of a loved one cannot seem to wrap their head around the fact that the person they dearly loved will not be physically with them anymore. (Kubler-Ross, Kessler, 8) They would assume the person who died will be okay if they just don’t think about him or her. However, as times continues and that person steps into reality he or she will begin to isolate themselves, they would take time off work or school and just stay home. Denial and isolation is known to be a defense mechanism that pauses the pain, nevertheless, it is only a temporary phase. Elisabeth Kubler Ross stated that, “Denial is a healthy way of dealing with the uncomfortable and painful situation, it functions as a buffer, it allows the patient to collect himself.” (Kubler-Ross
1981) As denial and isolation finally come to an end anger begins to emerge. That person may have anger toward the loved one who passed but that anger can also be targeted toward the other family members, friends, strangers, co-workers or even inanimate objects. The anger that dwells within that person will thicken once they over think why that person left us. The person may raise his voice, physically hurt himself or others, and make rude demands. After anger, one will receive of sense of helpnesses and vulnerability. The person hurting will feel empty inside and might secretly beg God to bring their loved one back. Those who are suffering by this stage will believe that if they did good deeds that God will be more lenient towards them. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross stated that individuals decided to dedicate their entire life to their God. (Kubler-Ross 1981) The stage of depression is a one of the phases where people should take into serious consideration. There are two types of depression, the first one is normal depression; regret and desire are associated with this type of depression. For time to time everyone get the feelings of depression, it is a normal reaction towards negative aspects of our lives. A students can be depressed because she failed her English test. An adult can feel depressed if he didn’t get the promotion he’s being working hard for. This type of depression can be cured by compassion, reassurance, support, and a positive perspective of life. The second type of depression is abnormal depression. In this case abnormal depression is much harder to cure, it does not take a hug or a smile to ease the person’s thoughts but that person is in need of professional assistance. One suffering from abnormal depression will experience rapid mood swings most of the day or almost every day, loss of enjoyment in hobbies, major change in weight or appetite, insomnia or excessive sleep almost every day, and recurring thoughts of death or suicide, suicide plan, or attempt. The last stage of grieving is acceptance which something not many people experience. Death is an unwelcoming experience and will bring out the worst in everyone. This phases is a goal many dream to achieve; it is associated with a weight lifted off their shoulders. It is not a period of excitement of forgetting the loved one but a period of relaxation. Dealing with a death of a loved one is the ultimate worse feeling humans can face, it is a personal experience and no one can help a person understand all the emotional they are witnessing. However, the only way to reach acceptance is to know that grieving will only prolong that natural process of healing. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross studied that children who are terminally ill will not fear their own death but fear how their death will affect their parents. Due to functionalism a family can only operate when everybody has a role. Each role makes the family run smoothly, it contributes positively to the family and functions the system as a whole. But when a role is taken away the system is no longer whole; the family no longer run smoothly. When a family faces a death they mourn in stages but some people get stuck on a stage of grieving and by that happening it creates an epidemic. The most common stage family members do not move past is anger and depression. Throughout Elisabeth Kubler-Ross novel, “On Grief and Grieving” she explains the aftermath of losing a loved one can be challenging, heartbreaking, and the grief could last a lifetime. Furthermore, people think they want to avoid the pain of grieving however the pain of the experience is the most overwhelming. In their lifetime grief transforms into a healing process that soothes the pain away. (Kubler-Ross, Kessler, 203) When people are faced with depression they feel helpless, contrastingly when a person feels depressed for a long period of time they can be on the verge of death. When experiencing depression for a long period, one may feel a sense of annoyance and feeling fed up with life. Depression carries a high risk of suicide; they may have suicidal plans, thoughts and even attempts. Anyone who expresses any type of depression should be taken extremely seriously. In 2011, from Statistic Canada suicide was the 9th leading cause of death in the Canada. That year there was one death every five hours. Over 90% of people who died by suicide have clinical depression or another mental illness. Many times, people who die by suicide have substance problem, however there are many people who die from suicide because of stress and trauma. Warning signs of suicide are similar to the normal stage of depression. Signs that someone may be thinking about or planning to commit suicide include: depression, loss of interest, trouble sleeping, eating, doing drastic stunts—driving fast and disobey road signs— and having unexpected mood swings. When a member of the family gets stuck on the anger stage they build a wall against the rest of the family. One will shut everyone out and rebel, he won’t care what anyone says, he will have a feeling of despair and regret and can only act out with physical and verbal abuse toward the family, inanimate objects, or other strangers. Harmful factors for bereaved individuals can develop when grief is continuous for a long period of time. Risk factors can value debating on the person’s own physiological and physical heath before the loss of the loved on. Parents who have loss a child are at a much higher risk of dealing with divorce than other married couples. Grief will decline a persons’ health by great lengths. A mother who has lost a child is more likely to being psychiatrically hospitalized. Bereaved individual who become too attached to the lost loved one has a higher risk of mental illness due to the fact that environmental factors causes mental illnesses. The new psychiatric name for complicated grief disorder has been altered to prolonged grief disorder. For the first, prolonged grief will be considered a formal diagnosis in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (Scully, 2013). Prolonged grief disorder was experimented by the Columbia University School of Social Work; their results consisted that 10 percent of people who lost a loved one will develop prolonged grief disorder. This type of mental illness happens when the normal stages of grief does not fade away. People who suffer from this mental illness are stuck in heartbreaking emotional pains for months after the death. People dealing with the trauma of losing a loved one have the recourses to seek help to get away from the pain. People dealing with the five stages a grief can reach acceptance by surround themselves with positive people, finding a new hobby, letting time heal them, and just to spend time with the family that is life. However, those who are dealing with depression, anxiety, prolonged grief, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can seek assistance from professionals. (Stöppler, 2014) Dr. M. Katherine Shear, the professor of Psychiatry in Social Work at CUSSW diagnosed prolonged grief, and has been developing a treatment for it since 1996. (Scully 2013) Dr. Shear studies consisted on the separation from close attachments. (Scully 2013) She figured out prolonged grief has symptoms strongly in relation to depression, people suffering from prolonged grief experience persistent yearning of the person who passed away, isolation, reminiscing about the person who died, difficulty to control anger, suicidal actions and thoughts.
Her treatment method is based on sixteen psychotherapy programs. Each program consists of helping the person reach the final stage of the grieving process; which is acceptance. One of the sixteen programs is called “imaginable revisiting”, the patient would reflect about the death of the loved one and learn. This program makes the patient come to an understanding of the death and try to learn to move past it. Throughout the entire program each patient has to revisit situation they are avoiding and learn to embrace that feeling.
Austin Kutscher, a professor at the Columbia University of Medicine and author of “Death and Bereavement” concluded that losses strengthens individuals for a much greater disaster. (Pecorino, 2002) Kutscher created a theory that stated that a bereavement individual must face death because it is a prerequisite for witnessing the beautiful tragedy of life. (Pecorino, 2002)
Research Methods Three hypotheses were conducted into this research assignment to determine the effects family members experience when dealing with a death. This study was constructed by evaluating what occurs when family members grieve and what happens when people grieve at an abnormal rate. The hypotheses used with the report was to help define how much a death of a family member can affect the family system. The hypotheses use were:
i) Each family member goes through five phases of grief ii) Some family members may get stuck on a phase and develop life threatening mental illnesses iii) There are cures for people dealing with mental illnesses due to grief and stress that many have not heard of.
Sample Group By achieving the best results for this report, the sample group consisted from ages sixteen and up. Information was accumulated from the age of sixteen because children before the age of sixteen tend to be more immature toward serious causes. Also, people from different background took part of his experience; by allowing diversity into this report it allow the information to evolve thought different perspectives of life. Gender role took place for the sample group as well. The gender of each candidate was taken into consideration when each male result was different opposed to women results
Instruments
The instrument used to create this report was a questionnaire survey that was about how a death of a loved one be dealt with. The questions that were setup were chosen to figure out how peered view death, whether they feared it or accepted it. Also, to figure out how people would respond to a person who lost a loved one, and to find out what people actually knew what physical condition people developed when dealing with a death
Procedure
The survey was administered though SurveyMonkey.com and was e-mailed to equal amounts of males and females, so fifteen males and fifteen females. The survey was sent out to equal amounts of males and females because it was important to have this assignment on a non-feminist point of view. The surveys were mainly sent to students from Monsignor Percy Johnson Catholic Secondary school and to a few co-workers from Urban Behaviour.

Written Analyze Information provided will be strictly confidential
1. What is your age group?
16-21
22-27
28-33
34+

2. What is your gender?
Male
Female

3. How do you deal with stress?
Keep it to yourself
Yoga
Talking to friends/family
Exercise
Other (Please specify)

4. Do you think people grieve in certain phases?
Yes
No
Sometimes

5. Which physical condition do you think people develop when dealing with a death?
Anxiety
Stroke
PTSD
Vision Problems
Suicide
Nausea
Elevated blood pressure|
Prone to injures
Insomnia
Depression
Other

6. What would you do if someone was mourning a lost?
Comfort them
Tell them to move on
Ask what you could do to make them feel better
Not help at all

7. When do you think family members accept the fact that they lost someone they loved?
Immediately following
One year following
Ten or more years following

8. Which of these choices best describe you?
I need to go to school and get my degree
I want a chance to win some cash
Family first
I like being alone

9. How do you think a person can stop grieving a lost?
Positive attitude
Medication
Time will heal them
Other (please specify)

10. Should death be feared or welcomed?
Feared
Welcomed
Other (please specify)
Written Analysis
Once all thirty result came in, they were carefully analysed and we used for further more research within this report.
Hypothesis #1: Each family member goes through five phases of grief when dealing with a death of a loved one.
When people were asked “Do you think people grieve in certain phases?” 14 out of 30 people said yes, 9 out of 30 people said no, and 7 out of 30 said sometimes. Nevertheless, if only 46% of people knew that people mourn in various phases it is highly unlikely that they would acknowledge what those phases were. If individuals knew the five stages of grief they would come to a better understanding of the people who are dealing with one of the toughest times of their life. If only 30% of people were oblivious to the fact that people grieve.

Hypothesis #2: Some family members may get stuck on a phase and develop life threatening mental illnesses.
When asked “Which physical condition do you think people develop when dealing with a death?” Only 7 out of 30 individuals knew that suicide occurs when a family loses a loved one. People who experience any sort of depression has a high risk of suicidal thoughts and actions. Also, only 9 out 30 people knew the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder occurred after a death. Therefore, the 23 individuals who were oblivious to the fact that suicide occur after a trauma event strengths the reasoning as to why it is important to study this cause.
Hypothesis #3: There are cures for people dealing with mental illnesses due to grief and stress that many have not heard of.
When asked what would you do if someone was morning a lost? 73% of candidates chose that they would comfort the person mourning the lost. Therefore, if people tried to comfort a person with prolong grieving they would have to have the knowledge of understanding how to react to them.

Visual Analysis

Discussion Death of a loved one is something we all dread. A death of a family member can create a significant amount of health risk for each person within the family. When losing a loved one people mourn and hope for the best to come. However, some people mourning differently and the only way to ease the pain is though professional help. Grief can result to various types of mental health illness, it can vary from clinical depression to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Brief Explanation of Hypotheses:
(i) Each family member goes through five phases of grief when dealing with a death of a loved one. The basic moral behind this hypotheses is that a person will experience five stages of grief (denial, isolation, anger, depression, and acceptance) at different times, and some stages may last longer than the other. The five stages of grief can last from five to ten years or never ending at all.
(ii) Some family members may get stuck on a phase and develop life threatening mental illnesses. This is where grieving should be taken into serious matters. The most common phase a person cannot move past is depression and anger. When a person is constantly experiencing depression they develop a mental illness called “Prolonged Grief” when dealing with prolonged grief a person will experience suicidal attempts and plans. Another mental illness people can develop is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is an anxiety disorder that people get after a traumatic event. Normally, when people witness dangerous events their body triggers a “fight-or-flight” response but with PTSD that respond is taken away. Those suffering from PTSD feel stressed or frighten when they are no long in danger.
(iii) There are cures for people dealing with mental illnesses due to grief and stress that many have not heard of. When grief is getting out of hand for people that’s when Prolonged Grief takes actions. Dr. M. Katherine Shear developed a cure for Prolonged Grief and can be complete by sixteen long programs. The main treatments for people suffering with PTSD is psychotherapy, medications, and/or both. It is crucial for anyone with PTSD to be treated by a mental health care provider who has studied various aspects of PTSD. Some bereaved individuals with PTSD need to try different treatments to find what works for their symptoms.
Comparison of Results to Experts Research:
Hypothesis #1: When mourning people being with denial and as time continues they hopefully face acceptance. People go through stages of grief but take five to ten years to reach acceptance or never achieving acceptance at all. When individuals were asked when do you think family members accept the fact that they lost someone they loved? 83% of people chosen one year following, not many know that accepting a death can last years if not forever. Each stage of grief can vary on their physical and mental health as well. Dr. Elisabeth Kubler Ross stated that each grievance stage is the layout of how people deal with their lost (Kubler-Ross, Kessler, 7). Within Dr. Elisabeth Kubler Ross novel she told her audience that acceptance is accepting the fact that our loved one is no longer with us, also it was realizing that, that person will permanently be gone but never forgotten. (Ross 25) Many people live their live believing that their loved one will show up one day and all dread and pain will vanish within seconds.
Hypothesis #2: Some family members may get stuck on a phase and develop life threatening mental illnesses. Grieving is a normal reaction when experiencing a tragic situation in relation to losing a loved one. Potential reaction to grieving can result to Prolonged grief, which was discovered by Dr. M. Katherine Shear. Prolonged grief is the diagnosed when it affects the individuals closest relationship becomes altered for the worse and is experiencing constant longing for the person who passed away. These five stages of grief can be accompanied with physical, emotional, social, and religious negative effects. Within the survey people chosen PTSD as a mental illness people can develop when grieving and Dr. Melissa Conrad Stöppler revealed that PTSD can be triggered by an event that created a huge negative impact on a person’s lifestyle.
Hypothesis #3: There are cures for people dealing with mental illnesses due to grief and stress that many have not heard of. When dealing with prolonged grief one must seek medical attention because prolonged grief and transform into depression and suicidal actions. Within the survey majority of the sample group were oblivious to the fact that people suffering from a lost can go into deep depression and will need medical help and not just a positive attitude and letting time do all the healing.
Theories that Relate to Effects of Death on the Family The functionalism theory is widely related because it assumes that families are stable when each individual has a role. For example, a human body can only function its’ best if each organ is doing their role. But when an organ is taken away the human body shifts and does not function the same. Due to structural functionalism change can occur only if the structure has the capability to adapt and maintain equilibrium. When someone in a family passes away that change happens all too sudden and the entire system begins to crash. System Theory can be associated with effects of death on the family since it goes into detail about how individuals influence each other. When a person dies within a family the system breaks and starts to fall apart. One another’s reactions tend to reflect off on each other and that’s when the system cannot work to its’ best of its ability. Family Systems Theory can be related because it looks for the interactions within family members. This theory can determine how a change that affects one family member can affect everyone else. Therefore, when a loved one passes away a family member grieving can worsen the grieving process for everyone else.
Recognition of Limitation The results of the procedure were limited because within the sample group majority of the candidates were relevantly close in age. By that occurring there was not a clear view to see developmental theory take action. Another limitation was that majority of the group were students and only a few had a full time job. By having different point of views, it creates more valued results, the results given were basically replications of everyone else’s results, and since majority of the group all had the same lifestyle.
Suggestion for the Future To modify the research within this assignment there could have been more questions to create a much stronger results. For future reference the sample group should have been various ages and lifestyles, for example, a student, full time work, unemployed, and/or stay at home mother or father. Within this assignment it has taught myself about how grieving can effect a person’s entire life and that there is a huge different between death and dying. This assignment got me interest into learning about Elisabeth Kubler-Ross life’s study.
Conclusion
Effect of death on the family is an issue many do not take into consideration because it is the nature of life. Nevertheless, death can create a huge toll on a family and others need to know whether or not they should call for assistance. Death of a loved one happens on a daily basics and could result to an epidemic crisis because it can lead to depression, suicide, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, and excessive weight gain and weight lost. Furthermore, effect of death on the family can lead to many tough years and it is important to study this topic because everyone should know how to handle grieving people. People should take into consideration that depression is normal but they should also take into consideration that depression should not be over looked.

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