Here we are, it is another Thursday and time for this week’s installment of In Due Course. Today I am shifting from exploring reactions to the death of a loved one based on the kind of loss to those based on how two particular age groups – adolescents and children – experience loss. I will begin with adolescents and follow up with children next week.
Here it is another Thursday and time for another posting of In Due Course. Last week I wrote about how to prepare for and deal with the losses we encounter during our lives. Today, the subject is how to help others who are grieving. As I have written numerous times before, each person’s grief is unique to each death. The reactions each person experiences, the way each one grieves, and the time each one needs are based on his/her individual situation. Therefore, here a few DON’Ts to keep in mind:
Well, here it is Thursday and time for another posting on death, dying, and bereavement. Last week I wrote about how grief is a natural, normal, and healthy response to a loss. I also mentioned that every loss has its own particular characteristics for each bereaved person. For example, why does one twin respond to the death of her parents differently than the other twin does? This week I am going to explore those factors that seem to have an influence on grief reactions. I will loosely follow the classification scheme used by William Worden in his book Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy. We will refer back to some of these factors in more detail when we discuss mourning.
Last week we went over the more common grief reactions associated with a loss and saw how grief can affect all aspects of our being – physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. When some of these reactions begin to arise, especially the first time, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if there is something wrong with us. This week we will explore the relationship between grief and disease.
Today is the second installment in a series on bereavement, grief, and mourning. Last week we went over how bereavement is the state of having incurred a loss. We are bereaved when we are deprived of something or someone we highly value. In common usage however, we normally consider bereavement to be related to death. Today’s posting is the first on grief – the reactions to a significant loss – whether it is the result of a death or not.
Welcome to my first posting on “The Journey Ahead"(changed to In Due Course in April 2008). As I sit down and start writing, I realize that you may be wondering what the significance of the title is and why I am discussing death, dying, and bereavement. I chose “The Journey Ahead” because of what each of us has ahead of us on our own life journey. Part of the journey ahead is suffering through the death of people we love, and part is experiencing our own death. You might ask, “Why should I want to have anything to do with death, dying, and bereavement, I’m not dying or grieving? Besides, that’s morbid!” Based on my professional and personal experience, I think there are two reasons to openly discuss these topics: one is more philosophical, the other is more practical.
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