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Grief and Bereavement in the Adult Palliative Care

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Added on  2020-02-19

Grief and Bereavement in the Adult Palliative Care

   Added on 2020-02-19

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Palliative Care 1Grief and BereavementIt is a belief and something to the knowledge of everyone that death exists and through death more meaning is attached to our existence but it reminds us of how valuable and precious life is. It, therefore, becomes very stressful and emotional for an individual to lose a loved one. Itbecomes very hard and at time unbelievable that the people we loved and cherished are living no more hence the need to cope up with a situation of their non-existence[ CITATION Dav161 \l 1033 ]. When one loses a loved one he experiences bereavement which loosely means he is deprived of something by death. The occurrence death leads to an experience of a range of emotions including anger, disbelief, humiliation, confusion, shock, despair, sadness and guilt among othersand in most cases people are not prepared for the duration and intensity of such emotions.BereavementBereavement refers to the grieving and acknowledging that a loved one is deceased. It is the condition of loss that an individual suffers when someone close to him has died. One of the greatest sorrows that an individual can experience is the loss of a loved one. Bereavement feelings can also be accompanied by other losses, for example, a termination of a vital relationship, deterioration in your health or the health of someone you care about[ CITATION JWi13\l 1033 ].GriefGrieving is the external or outward expression of one’s loss and is normally expressed emotionally, physically and psychologically. Depression is a way of expressing grief psychologically while crying or mourning is a way of physical expression. Grief is accompaniedby physical symptoms such as loss of appetite, energy loss, stomach pains, sleep disturbances
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Palliative Care 2and even intestinal upsets[ CITATION Kat112 \l 1033 ]. Mourning tests the natural defense system ofan individual. At times profound emotional reactions may take place. Some of these reactions include depression, thoughts of suicide, anxiety attacks and chronic fatigue. The intensity of grief an individual experience is determined by the nature of the death and the relationship with the dead person. The death of a child creates a feeling of injustice to thebereaved and a loss of potential, unfulfilled dreams. It creates a sense of senseless suffering. On the other hand, the death of a spouse is traumatic and may culminate into a financial crisis. Everyone has his own way of expressing and feeling grief but there are certain stages that are common to the mourning process. It all begins with according that a loss has occurred and going on until the loss is finally accepted[ CITATION Dav161 \l 1033 ]. People grieving normally report crying spells and low productivity at work. This is due tothe challenge that comes with accepting the situation at first. But as soon as the initial shock is eroded, feelings of anger replace the denial of the loss. The anger may be directed to nurses, God, oneself, the dead person, doctors or even other loved ones. Guilt, the presence of physical problems, hostility and continued thought of the dead person are indicators of grief. Through mourning, people learn to adapt to a loss and is usually a factor of the cultural rituals, customs and the rules of the society regarding coping with losses[ CITATION Jam101 \l 1033 ]. Stages of GriefGrief is a normal occurrence hence should not be treated as a condition for illness but instead, a natural response to that expresses towards the loss of someone important to an individual. The bereaved may experience a variety of emotion depending on a number of reasonsamong them ended relationships, loss of a job or demise of a loved one. Grief occurs in various
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Palliative Care 3stages as the individual struggles to come to terms with the current development. The common stages of grief include;Denial: This occurs at the first time of learning about a loss and in most cases treated as ifit is an imagination as opposed to a reality[ CITATION Dav161 \l 1033 ]. It may be accompanied by shock or even numb and expresses a temporary way of handling the sudden overwhelming emotions. Denial is used as a defense mechanism against coming to terms with a loss and the shock that comes with it. Through denial, we block out words about the loss and shy away from facts. Anger: A feeling of frustration and helpless crops in when the reality dawns as individualexperiences the pain of the loss. Such feelings are turned into anger thereafter and may be direct to life as a whole, God or even other people including doctors, nurses, other loved ones or the deceased. Rationally, it is to our understanding that the deceased is not to blame for the occurrence but still due to emotions resent the person for leaving us or causing us pain. It is equally natural to be angry with the deceased and a feeling of being left alone[ CITATION EAl13 \l 1033 ]. Bargaining: At this stage, the bereaved tend to focus on what he could do in order to prevent the loss from occurring. Such thoughts as ‘what if....' and ‘if only....' Tend to strike the mind and leaves the bereaved partly blaming self for the loss. At times, with the aim of protecting us from the painful reality with us, an individual is attempted to make deals with God secretly in a bid to postpone what cannot be evaded[ CITATION Bre10 \l 1033 ]. Depression: As one begins to comprehend the loss and the effects it has come with in his life he experiences sadness. Depression occurs in two types and is usually associated with
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