Equipped to...Learn About Loss
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Hi Visitor Equipped to...Learn About LossThis newsletter draws on Survive Your Sorrow, a comprehensive article found on my website. National Hospice Week took place earlier this month. Hospice is a wonderful organisation with four main aims:
This two-pronged approach – encompassing both the needs of the patient and the patient’s loved ones – is what makes Hospice such a wonderful organization. Understanding the dying process is important for both the patient and their family as it allows them to deal appropriately with the range of emotions that arise. Many people do not realise that there are distinct and recognisable stages a terminally ill person passes through on the way to accepting their situation. That person’s family and loved ones will also experience several stages as they slowly come to terms with what is happening. |
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The Five Stages of GriefIn 1969, psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced what became known as the "five stages of grief." These stages were actually based on her studies of the feelings of patients facing terminal illness. The five stages are: Denial: The first typical reaction to the possibility of one's own death is to deny it. This serves as a buffer against a reality the person is not yet able to accept. Anger: The individual realises that death is approaching and often expresses anger. This may be directed at other people – close relatives, the hospital staff, and even God. Bargaining: Individuals try to negotiate, for example with God or medical staff, in an attempt to postpone their death. Depression: When the dying person can no longer deny the illness, the anger is replaced with a powerful feeling of loss, which may cause severe depression. Acceptance: This occurs when a person has had adequate time and help to work through the other stages, and has come to terms with death. 
If you're thinking of volunteering as a helper at a Hospice, you may want to take my Basic Counselling Skills Course. The Tasks of GriefDr William Worden created a theory often referred to as The Tasks of Grief. These tasks can be the means by which a healthy person works through the pain of grieving for a loved one, and moves into the next phase of life. These tasks are: To accept the reality of the loss: Coming to terms with the reality that the person is dead and will not return. To experience the pain of grief: Grief is painful, physically and emotionally. It is important to acknowledge the pain and not suppress it. To adjust to the new environment where the deceased person is missing: The struggle to adjust to all of the changes that happen as a result of the person being gone. To reinvest energy in life, loosen ties to the deceased and forge a new type of relationship with them based on memory, spirit and love. If you know someone who is grieving over the loss of a loved one, or who has a loved one with a terminal illness, please forward this newsletter to them to help them cope and understand the process. And if you yourself are struggling to accept that either you or a loved oned is suffering from a terminal illness, please contact me. I can help. Image by: fallingwater123 What's Next?Watch out for my next newsletter where you will be Tip! Save these newsletters and accumulate the series on Mastering Life's Changes. Regards
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