GRIE

F
It is not possible to go through life without suffering losses.
GRIEF
The process of spiritual, psychological,
social & somatic reactions to the
perception of loss.

MOURNING
The cultural response to grief.

BEREAVEMENT
The state of having suffered a
loss.
 The grief associated with
death is familiar to most
people, but individuals grieve
in connection with a variety of
losses throughout their lives,
such as unemployment,
ill health or the end of a
relationship
Physical Reactions:
• Changes in appetite
• Sleep disturbances
• Exaggeration of other physical situations

Behavioral Reactions
• Aggressive behaviors
• Withdrawn/passive behaviors
• Self-doubt increases
• Reckless or self-destructive behaviors
• Hyperactivity
Cognitive Reactions
• Reduced attention span
• Loss-centered thinking
• Impaired self esteem
• Idealization of the past, of the future and of the
individual and the relationship lost
• Exaggerations in magical thinking (I made it happen)

Emotional Reactions
• Self blame and guilt
• Fears
• Helplessness/Hopelessness
• Anger
• Yearning/desiring the lost loved one and the world
that was.
• Withdrawn
 We often see grief as
interfering with life, rather
than being intrinsic to life.
The experience of grief and the
mourning process involves many
changes in the life of the individual.
It is a period of ADAPTATION and
TRANSITIONS in all aspects of the
individual’s life. Therefore, it is the
WHOLE PERSON that faces this
forced change.
 Learning to accept that we do NOT get over a
loss, but learn to live with the loss experience,
can assist individuals in accepting their grief
response as a JOURNEY—as a part of their own
life experience—and not see this merely as tasks
to be accomplished to “get better.”
 We are overwhelmed, not only because of our
present loss, but because we arrive at this point
of our lives without the benefit of having learnt
anything useful from our previous losses.
The manifestations listed are more intensified
when there has been a sudden, unanticipated
death
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross has taught us that we
must see the bereaved people we serve
and counsel as our teachers.