loss and grief
INTRODUCTION
Almost everyone in the world experiences an event which can be considered as a loss. It is the disappearance of something or someone important to an individual, grief is the natural response to the loss, people feel a range of emotions when they suffer a loss such as shock, panic, denial, anger and guilt. Death is one of the major events associated with loss but there are many others that occur which can also have a negative effect on someone’s life by impacting in various ways.
1
A description of a range of losses which may trigger grief
Any significant loss in our life can cause grief, and individuals can have a mixed range of feelings with regards to their loss. These losses include Infertility where the individual will experience emotions common to the death of a loved one, this type of loss can trigger many reactions such as depression, anger towards life in general or towards others that have children, shame, they feel they are less of a person as they are unable to have children, frustration, it can also result in the avoidance of social interactions (www.infertility.about.com). Divorce where the individual feels they have lost all hope and dreams for the future, fear of now having to cope alone, resentment towards the other person, guilt, they may also struggle with a lifestyle change which may also have a negative impact on social aspects of their life due to financial changes(www.divorcesupport.about.com). The loss of a job where the individual feels anger, jealousy of others who have a job, they may feel they have lost their identity and are useless. This can also cause the individual to suffer social exclusion (www.helpguide.org). There are many more that can trigger grief such as loss of a body function, rape, loss of a friendship, homelessness, role-redefinition.
2
A description of two theoretical models of grief
One model of grief I looked at was Kubler-Ross (1969) who initially developed the five stage model of grief,
Almost everyone in the world experiences an event which can be considered as a loss. It is the disappearance of something or someone important to an individual, grief is the natural response to the loss, people feel a range of emotions when they suffer a loss such as shock, panic, denial, anger and guilt. Death is one of the major events associated with loss but there are many others that occur which can also have a negative effect on someone’s life by impacting in various ways.
1
A description of a range of losses which may trigger grief
Any significant loss in our life can cause grief, and individuals can have a mixed range of feelings with regards to their loss. These losses include Infertility where the individual will experience emotions common to the death of a loved one, this type of loss can trigger many reactions such as depression, anger towards life in general or towards others that have children, shame, they feel they are less of a person as they are unable to have children, frustration, it can also result in the avoidance of social interactions (www.infertility.about.com). Divorce where the individual feels they have lost all hope and dreams for the future, fear of now having to cope alone, resentment towards the other person, guilt, they may also struggle with a lifestyle change which may also have a negative impact on social aspects of their life due to financial changes(www.divorcesupport.about.com). The loss of a job where the individual feels anger, jealousy of others who have a job, they may feel they have lost their identity and are useless. This can also cause the individual to suffer social exclusion (www.helpguide.org). There are many more that can trigger grief such as loss of a body function, rape, loss of a friendship, homelessness, role-redefinition.
2
A description of two theoretical models of grief
One model of grief I looked at was Kubler-Ross (1969) who initially developed the five stage model of grief,