Supporting Significant Life Events: A Case Study Analysis

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SUPPORTING SIGNIFICANT
LIFE EVENTS
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Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1...................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 IMPACT OF SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS ON INDIVIDUALS................................................4
1.2 ANALYSE POSSIBLE GROUP RESPONSES TO SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS OCCURRING TO
AN INDIVIDUAL.....................................................................................................................5
1.3 IMPACT OF OTHERS IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ON INDIVIDUAL SUFFERING
SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS.................................................................................................... 6
TASK 2...................................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 EFFECTIVENESS OF ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN SUPPORTING
INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR GROUPS........................................................................................7
2.2 HOW OTHERS IN SOCIAL NETWORK PROVIDE SUPPORT TO INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCING
SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS.................................................................................................... 8
2.3 EVALUATE THE SUITABILITY OF EXTERNAL SUPPORT FOR AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS.......9
TASK 3.................................................................................................................................... 10
3.1 ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSES FOR SUPPORTING AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS.................10
3.2 REFLECT PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE SUPPORT OF INDIVIDUALS SUFFERING
FROM SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS........................................................................................12
3.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING SUPPORT PROVIDED FROM ORGANIZATIONS
........................................................................................................................................... 13
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 14
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................... 15
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INTRODUCTION
The assignment will lay emphasis on the significant life events such as dementia and
bereavement faced by two individuals Jacqui and Gemma in the given case studies. In one
case the individual is suffering from Alzheimer disease and in another case, an individual
loses a beloved person. The assignment will determine the impact on and response of
individual facing such life events. In the case, Jacqui has suffered from Alzheimer many years
ago and now is having insomnia and is confused if things are happening in real or not that
are the features of dementia. Another case is of Gemma who is suffering from bereavement
and thus, contacted local Cruse Bereavement Care service for the support that will help in
getting back the self-respect and determination with the passing time.
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TASK 1
1.1 IMPACT OF SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS ON INDIVIDUALS
In the case, Gemma is facing hardships and suffering from pain after losing her mother who
was more like a best friend for her. The significant life event faced by Gemma is termed as
Bereavement (Cleiren, 2019). Another undesirable life event is faced by Jacqui, who is
suffering from Alzheimer where the individual has a terrible phase of insomnia, forgets to
eat or get dressed, losses the sense of hat is real and important and thus, is experiencing
dementia (Spence et al. 2019).
The life of individual changes drastically due to the disease or illness suffered by them. The
significant life events experienced by an individual can have a positive or negative change in
their social, psychological and emotional behaviour (Spence et al. 2019).
Psychological and emotional impact: The individual suffering from dementia and
bereavement deals with a range of emotions such as shock, fear, stress, depression,
disbelief, tension, anger, etc. according to the case, both Gemma and Jacqui are struggling
to deal with the emotions they are facing due to the loss on the beloved person and due to
confusion and memory loss suffered by Jacqui (Spence et al. 2019).
Physical impact: Such suffering lead to physical impact like pain in the body. It also affects
the sleeping habits of the individual. Like in the case, Jacqui was facing sleeping disorder like
insomnia. If not treated well, these events make an individual anxious and numb and thus,
they need support from their friends and family (Cleiren, 2019).
Social impact: The person experiencing dementia and bereavement may face issues like
demise sentiments, aggression, doubts, confusion, etc. that can be treated by getting proper
support, love and sympathy from family and social networks. Jacqui was dealing with
confusion about what is real and what not and so decided to shift to parent’s house to get
support from them for quick recovery. Gemma visited bereavement counsellor to deal with
her emotions (Cleiren, 2019).
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1.2 ANALYSE POSSIBLE GROUP RESPONSES TO SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS
OCCURRING TO AN INDIVIDUAL
The individuals experiencing significant life events get many types of responses from family,
friends, social groups, society, etc. there was a drastic change in the life of Gemma and
Jacqui after facing these life events. Individual gets support from different members like in
case of Jacqui, support was provided by the doctor and family members and Gemma got
support from local Cruse service councillor (Vlachogianni et al. 2016). Different types of
responses are experienced by the individual in case of dementia and bereavement that can
be emotional, social, physical, financial and spiritual support provided by the loved ones.
Associations: Various organizations or associations are engaged in helping people to recover
from the problem of dementia and bereavement and bring improvement in the individual
with the help of various therapy sessions. In the case, Jacqui receives support from Young
Dementia UK and Gemma contacts local Cruse Bereavement Care service counsellor for help
and support (Vlachogianni et al. 2016).
Social support: The individual experiencing significant life events get positive responses
from friends and family as they provide emotional support, improve their situation by
motivating them to come out of the hardships and pain, encourage them to stay happy that
results in forgetting past memories that s death of the beloved (Vlachogianni et al. 2016).
The friends and family members of Gemma in the case should help her in reducing the pain
of mother’s death by supporting her in living a happy life. Jacqui can get support from
friends and family in the form of love that can help in recovering sooner with the problem of
memory loss, confusion and insomnia (Cox et al. 2018).
Self-confidence: Being an artist, Jacqui was confident in handling the situation alone. After
all the confusion and discomfort, her determination and focus acted as a support to start
selling artwork at a fair and fight with Alzheimer disease (Cox et al. 2018).
Thus, most of the time individuals get positive responses from their loved ones and society
in the form of sympathy, love and support. There can be some negative response too that
can be neglect, making fun, ignorance, etc. (Cox et al. 2018).
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1.3 IMPACT OF OTHERS IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE ON INDIVIDUAL
SUFFERING SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS
The other people involved in the case of dementia and bereavement can be nurse, doctors,
counsellors and other supporters that belong to some health and care centre. These people
focus on taking immense care of the patient to help them recover to the soonest with the
help of special care provided by the family, friends and these specialists (Worden, 2018).
The specialists and organizations taking care of the individuals suffering from dementia and
bereavement in the UK help the sufferers each and every day as per the requirements of the
individual. They try to understand the individual in order to provide the right aid and
treatment for improving their situation (Worden, 2018).
In the case of bereavement, Gemma was affected mentally and emotionally after the death
of her mother and was given therapy sessions by the counsellor. The counsellor assesses the
physical environment and the mental abilities of the patient in order to help them to
recover from the situation quickly (Worden, 2018). But the behaviour of the patient also has
an impact on the therapist as they also feel depressed and mentally and emotionally
disturbed hearing to the nostalgic talks of the patient. Also, sometimes the health and care
workers get sleep deprived and anxious while dealing with the patient suffering from
bereavement (Worden, 2018).
In another case, Jacqui got support from Young Dementia UK to recover from Alzheimer’s
disease. The memory loss, insomnia, dilemma of what is real and important and not being
able to take care of teenage daughter, etc. were huge problems faced by Jacqui that had an
impact on the supporters too as they are affected mentally and physically while treating the
patient and sometimes they feel irritated, stressed and depressed by dealing with the
condition of individual suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (Worden, 2018).
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TASK 2
2.1 EFFECTIVENESS OF ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN
SUPPORTING INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR GROUPS
The health care organizations such as Young Dementia UK and Cruse Bereavement Care
provides support to all the people suffering from dementia and bereavement and also to
their families. These organizations help in creating awareness among the population about
such suffering and their prevention (Diener et al. 2017). The policies framed by health care
organizations to deal with dementia and bereavement are:
 The needs and problems of each patient in the organization are treated with respect,
compassion and sensitivity.
 The organizations focus on the privacy of the patient by safeguarding and protecting
the data provided by them (Diener et al. 2017).
 There should be no discrimination among the patients on the basis of cast, religion,
beliefs, gender, etc.
 The supporters should be trained well and must have relevant knowledge and skills
to provide the best services to the patient to help them improve their situation
(Diener et al. 2017).
The organizational procedures used in Young Dementia UK and CRUSE Bereavement Care
include planning and identifying the needs and requirements of the patient, spreading
awareness, assessment of the services offered, support and supervision to the patient,
education and training to the supporters, monitoring an evaluation of the services provided
by the organization (Segal and Teasdale, 2018).
The efficiency of such policies and procedures helps in controlling the overall system of the
organization. The organizational policies and procedures are effective in providing the best
support to the individuals and their families to manage the significant life event faced by
them (Segal and Teasdale, 2018).
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2.2 HOW OTHERS IN SOCIAL NETWORK PROVIDE SUPPORT TO INDIVIDUAL
EXPERIENCING SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS
There are many other people apart from friends, family and health care organization that
provide support to the individuals suffering from dementia and bereavement in the form of
mental, physical, financial, or social support. Jacqui had 40 appointments with the doctor in
one year to understand and solve the situation (Aoun et al. 2019). Gemma also consulted a
general practitioner to overcome the problem. They provided mental and emotional
support to the patient by recommending ways to recover from the situation. The various
types of support provided to Gemma and Jacqui for bereavement and dementia by their
social network can be explained as:
Physical support: The grief of Gemma due to her mother’s death and the problems like
insomnia, hair loss, confusion faced by Jacqui due to Alzheimer's disease can be supported
by the caretakers in meeting their physical requirements and help them with their physical
illness (Aoun et al. 2019).
Mental support: Gemma is in great need of therapies and counselling sessions that help in
reducing her stress, pain, depression and anxiety which is provided by the Cruse
Bereavement Care service to improve her situation and make her live a happy life. In the
case of Jacqui, mental support is given to increase memory power and reduce stress,
confusion, tension, etc. to overcome dementia (Singleton et al. 2017).
Spiritual support: The caretakers give advice to the patient for healthy and quick recovery.
Jacqui and Gemma can be told to perform yoga and meditation, stay positive, talk to others,
and make new friends, etc. as it helps in diverting their attention from their disease which
may lead to a reduction in stress and depression to get rid of dementia and bereavement
and stay happily (Singleton et al. 2017).
Financial support: The person in the friends and social network can help the patient by
providing funds for treatment and the organizations can be helpful in giving financial
support by treating the events at low cost or voluntarily (Aoun et al. 2019).
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2.3 EVALUATE THE SUITABILITY OF EXTERNAL SUPPORT FOR AFFECTED
INDIVIDUALS
Depression is really hard to deal with. Both, Jacqui and Gemma were struggling with
depression due to the significant life events they were facing that needed external support
for recovery. The best external support a patient can get is from the doctor. Health care
organizations also provide great support to the individual (Dixon et al. 2018). Another type
of external support that is helpful for the patient is from another patient dealing with the
same disease as it helps the patient in understanding and accepting their own situation
easily which helps in fast metal recovery of the patient.
In the case study, Jacqui went to Young Dementia UK to get external support to deal with
the problems such as depression, stress and confusion by taking help from the supporter to
conduct activities that help in increasing her retention power (Dixon et al. 2018). Gemma
took help of the Cruse Bereavement Care service suggested by her general practitioner
where a counsellor would provide external support by giving psychological therapy sessions
to overcome the situation of grief and depression after the death of her mother. Gemma
can also get external support from her social networks where new interactions and friends
can be made that are essential to make her forget the memories of the pat and live in the
present and enjoy every moment and stay happy (Dixon et al. 2018).
Communication with the patient is very much needed to solve the problem of depression as
when the problem is shared by the patient with the doctors or any other external supporter;
they can help the patient in overcoming the problem and dealing with the situation and get
relieved from the significant life events faced by them (Dixon et al. 2018).
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TASK 3
3.1 ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSES FOR SUPPORTING AFFECTED
INDIVIDUALS
There can be different types of responses experienced by the organizations while supporting
the individual dealing with the significant life event. Jacqui and Gemma can get various
types of responses from the organizations they consult like Young Dementia UK for
recovering from Alzheimer and the Cruse Bereavement Care for Gemma to come out of the
grief of her mother's death (Waller et al. 2016).
The organizational responses focus on privacy and protection of patient’s information,
effective communication with the patient, implementation of employment policies in the
organization efficiently (Waller et al. 2016). The organizational responses can be explained
as:
Informed choices: The supporters must identify the nature and causes of the illness suffered
by the individual and consider their needs and requirements focusing on the health and
safety of the patient by providing them with the best services. These services can help
Jacqui and Gemma in recovering from Dementia and bereavement and their negative
reaction on their psychological and social behaviour (Waller et al. 2016).
Offer support: The organizations can offer support to the patients in the form of
counselling, advice, therapy sessions, telephonic or personal appointments, etc. to help
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them recover from the significant life event (Schulz and Ubell, 2016). The general
practitioner and the counsellor helped Gemma in providing consultation services and a
friendly environment to offer the type of support that was needed in order to reduce grief
and depression faced by Gemma. The doctor and Young Dementia UK offered mental and
physical support to Jacqui that helped in improving her condition (Schulz and Ubell, 2016).
Empathy: The human resource department is always supportive and empathetic, they
provide comfort and sympathy to the patients that are suffering from dementia and
bereavement as they need moral and emotional support more than anything else and it
helps them in moving on and moving forward in their life by improving their mental and
psychological condition (Schulz and Ubell, 2016).
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3.2 REFLECT PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE SUPPORT OF INDIVIDUALS
SUFFERING FROM SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS
As per my personal experience to support an individual experiencing bereavement, I have
seen my aunt lose her son who was 26 years old in an accident which was really painful and
gave a trauma to the whole family. Everyone was experiencing grief and it affected all the
family members mentally and emotionally.
I and my sister became a pillar of support for h elder members of the family. I started
spending more time with them listening to them and supporting them in healing with the
incident gradually. I also helped them in providing physical support by going to shopping
with them, taking them to the church which helps in providing them spiritual support and
helping them in cooking food and serving it to the guests. The physical, psychological and
emotional support was very much needed by my aunt to move on and stay happy again that
was difficult but necessary. After three months of his death, I recommended my aunt to go
out and make new friends and join new groups that helped her a lot in recovering from the
bereavement as social support is very much needed by the individual experiencing such
events. It has been two years to the incident now and my aunt has overcome from the
incident and stays happily now.
Another incident I remember is, one day I went to my friend’s house and he had his cousin
visited his house who was suffering from dementia. I came to know in detail about the
illness and its causes that day. I researched on the internet for measures to be taken for
treatment. He had a problem of memory loss; he was suffering from depression, insomnia,
stress. I started consoling and supporting him positively by communicating with him on a
regular basis, listening to his talks, encouraging him to stay determined, I introduced him to
my other friends and everyone was helpful and I used to remind him of things that he told
are necessary and to be done. I and my friend were always there with him to support him
mentally, physically and emotionally and help him in recovering with the illness. He is still
not fully recovered but is in a very better condition and stays positive with his situation.
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