Psych of Grief Week 5

Attitudes

a learned tendency to respond to people, onjects, or institutions in a positive or negative way

Thanatophobia

an irrational, exaggerated fear of death

Thanatology

the study of death, dying, bereavement, and mourning

Social Facilitation

occurs when an individual's performance improves because of the presence of others

Mourning

outward expression of grief

Psychology

the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes

Cognitive psychology

from the Latin, "to know;" the study of the origins and consequences of thoughts, memories, beliefs, perceptions, explanations, and other mental processes

Emotional Intelligence

the ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions

Funeral Service Psychology

the study of human behavior and mental processes related to funeral service

Bereavement

the act or event of separation or loss that results in the experience of grief

Social Comparison

making judgments about ourselves through comparison with others

Emotion

feelings created by brain patterns accompanied by bodily changes

Prejudice

negative attitude towards others based on their gender, religion, race, or membership in a particular group

Discrimination

treating members of groups differently in circumstances where their rights or treatment should be identical

Grief

an emotion or set of emotions due to loss

Little Deaths

job loss, end of relationship, moving to new school

Bereavement

Objective event of loss

Confusion

a sense of confusion and disorganization typically occurs during the initial period of grief

Physical aspects of grief

tightness in throat

Typical/conventional mourning behavior

wearing black armbands

A theme common to mourning behavior “cross culturally”

bereaved are different and this difference diminishes with time

Tasks of mourning/ grief (worden)

adjust to a world without the deceased

assumptive world

the world we expect to be stable and reliable

John Bowlby “Attachment  Theory”

centeral message is that we create attachments and there must be a process by which we relinquish them

Telling the “story”

can be told without constraint of having to conform to a particular model of how it should be, provides social relief and promotes the search for meaning, brings people together in mutual support of their loss.

Loss oriented coping

looking at old photos

Complicated mourning

failure to realize implication of loss

Broken heart phenomenon

being invesstigated scientifically and considered plausible - broken heart as a consequence of stress of bereavement

In the linear pattern of grieving

grief is experienced and expressed in restlessness or mental activity

High-grief death

is characterized by intense reactions (death of a teen in a car accident)

Trigger events

restimulate grief

Examples of Trigger events

Anniversaries, birthdays, special occassions, and holidays can reawaken and rectivate unexpected feelings of grief

Disenfranchised Grief

grief experienced in connection with a loss that is not socially supported or acknowledge through the usual rituals

Unfinished business

an end to plans and dreams that the bereaved shared with the deceased

Psychosocial effects of war

murder, leads to higher levels of traumatic reactions,

Adolescents response to 9/11

terror attacks included fear and concern about dying about dying from other disasters

Death of a Parent

loss of security, affection, nuturing. Coping may become complicated when death of a parent results of homicide

How kids cope from death of a parent

spontaneous drawings and art therapy are excellent ways for coping

Death of a Sibling

may be the loss of a protector or caregiver as well as a playmate

The well child can balance conflicting emotions by paticipating in the family process 

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David Bulk

adolescents question about the nature of life and death, good and evil, and the meaning of life

Mental first aid

helps cope with disturbing thoughts and feelings

Age 0-2

provide maximum physical relief and comfort

Coping mechanisms that are used by children to cope with serious illness

making a deal that allows a desire to be filled once pain is endured, limiting how many people they have close relationships with, regressing behaviors that are less demanding

Children’s coping mechanisms

making deals that allow desire to be filled once pain is endured

Decisions about medical treatment

securing assent or agreement to proposed treatment or procedure,

50% rule- when a minor refuses medical treatments, court would rule in favor of the parents when the risk of not receiving treatment is greater that 50%

Helping children cope

answer questions directly and honestly

Discussing death before a crisis occurs

when discussing death with a child, adults should tell the truth while considering child’s developmental level and ability to understand

Discussions in the aftermath of loss

statements like “gone away for a long sleep” or “up in heaven” allow for misconceptions and literal interpertations

Death of a mother

is more difficult than that of a father because mothers are usually the primary nuturing caregiver

Parental bereavement

death of a child represents an end to plans and hope for a child

Reproductive loses

infertility is diminished or absent capacity to produce offspring.

Giving a child up for adoption

stillbirth

often occurs between the twentieth weeks and birth

parents encouraged to hold baby as a way of coping

SIDS

death of an apparently healthy baby usually before one year of age and of unknown or no definitive cause

The death of an older child

parents may have an easier time coping when they derive their identitiy from more than the parental role

Major source of conflict between bereaved couples

grieving styles and coping with the death of a child related to differences in values, beliefs, and expectations

Factors influencing spousal bereavement

adverse reactions to death are more common in widowers

Aging and the Aged

accepting death, perferable to inactivity, perferable to becoming a burden, perferable to loss of mental faculties

Sensesence

the process of becoming old