Loss, Grief, and Bereavement (cont.)
How is grief assessed?
Although practitioners sometimes use paper and
pencil tests to determine if a person is suffering from grief, the assessment is
usually made by the health caregiver asking questions to assess what symptoms an
individual is suffering from, then considering whether he or she is suffering
from normal grief, complicated grief, or some other issue. Those questions tend
to explore whether there are emotional, physical, and/or social symptoms of
grief, and if so, how severe and how long the symptoms have been present. The
practitioner may also try to determine what stages of the grief process the
person has experienced and what stage currently dominates their feelings at the
time of the assessment.
How can people cope with grief?
There remains some controversy about how to best help people survive the loss
of a loved one. While many forms of support are used and do help certain
individuals, little scientific research has shown clear benefits for any
particular approach. That is thought to be because each approach to support is
so different that it is hard to scientifically compare one to another,
intervention procedures are not consistently reported in publications, and the
ways these interventions have been studied are flawed. Although there has been some concern that grief counseling for
uncomplicated grief sufferers works against bereavement recovery, there is
research to the contrary. One approach to treating grief is the dual process
model, which endorses the bereavement process as being the dynamic struggle
between the pain of the death of the loved one (loss-oriented) and recovery
(restoration-oriented). This model of treatment recommends that bereaved
individuals alternate between directly working on their loss (confrontation) and
taking a break from (avoidance) that process when appropriate.
Quite valuable tips for journaling as an effective way of managing
bereavement rather than just stirring up painful feelings are provided by the
Center for Journal Therapy. While encouraging those who choose to write a
journal to apply no strict rules to the process, some of the ideas encouraged
include limiting the time journaling to 15 minutes per day or less to decrease
the likelihood of worsening grief, writing how one imagines his or her life will
be a year from the date of the loss, and clearly identifying feelings to allow
for easier tracking of the individual's grief process.
To help children and adolescents cope emotionally with the death of a friend
or family member, it is important to ensure they receive consistent caretaking
and frequent interaction with supportive adults. For children of school age and
older, appropriate participation in school, social, and extracurricular
activities is necessary to a successful resolution of grief. For adolescents,
maintaining positive relationships with peers becomes important in helping teens
figure out how to deal with death of a loved one. Depending on
the adolescent, they even may find interactions with peers and family more
helpful than formal sources of support like their school counselor.
All children and teens can benefit from being reassured that they did not cause
their loved one to die, and such reassurance can go a long way toward lessening
the developmentally appropriate tendency children and adolescents have for
blaming themselves and any angry feelings they may have harbored against their
lost loved one for the death.
Effective coping tips for grieving are nearly as different and numerous as
there are bereaved individuals. The bereaved individual's caring for him/herself
through continuing nutritious and regular eating habits, getting extra rest, and
communicating with surviving friends and families are some ways for grief
sufferers to ease the grief process. While the painful aspects of dealing with
death are clear, bereavement sometimes also leads to enhanced personal
development.
Next: What are the legal issues associated with dying and death? »
- Autopsy - Read about autospy and the situations in which one is mandatory or may be ordered upon death. Results of an autospy may be fairly quick, but if toxicology reports are necessary it may take weeks for the results.
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