Grief, Mourning and Bereavement

Grief, Mourning and Bereavement, three words most of us don’t want to think about or experience. Because, they are associated with loss, most likely the death of a loved one. Most of us have fairly good coping skills that help us get through tough times. Loss can lead to positive growth, both emotionally and spiritually. On the other hand, it can also lead to depression. There is no ideal way to cope with loss and the way we grieve depends on a lot of personal factors, including our personality and the nature of the lost relationship. Other factors including cultural and spiritual background, mental history, coping styles, support systems and social and economic status. The bottom line is there are many ways that we can cope with loss or help someone else go through a significant loss.

What is Grief?

Grief is a normal process of reacting to some kind of loss in our lives, like death or divorce. It is the realization that someone or something has been taken away. Grief can be experienced on many levels including mentally, physically, socially or emotionally. For instance, a mental reaction to loss could be anger, guilt or sadness. A physical reaction would involve sleep or appetite disturbances. The grief process depends on our relationship with the person who passed away, the situation surrounding their death and dying process and our attachment to that individual.

What about Bereavement and Mourning?

Grief is sometimes confused with bereavement, which are both confused with mourning. Bereavement is the actual period of time after a loss takes place. Grief is experienced during the time of bereavement. Mourning also takes place during bereavement and involves adapting to the loss and depends on the individual’s culture and social norms for coping with loss. The length of time for bereavement depends on many things, including closeness of the relationship, the amount of time spent anticipating the death (anticipatory grief) and many other factors.

Final Thoughts on Grief, Mourning and Bereavement

Bad things will happen to us throughout our lives, and if we live long enough, we will experience the death of friends and family. We will also experience grief, go through a period of time – bereavement, and then begin to live again or go through mourning. It is important for us to develop healthy coping skills early in our lives and build upon them as we age. Spirituality, meditation, exercise, reading, relationships, diet and nutrition, caring for pets, purposeful work and activity, and finding meaning in life can all help us through these difficult times. What are your coping skills? Have you had to rely on them lately? Were they successful? It is never too late to develop strong coping methods to help us through some of the tougher times in our lives.

More About Hospice

• Pain Management
• Hospice 101
• Death and Dying in Long-Term Care