Death, Dying and Bereavement

Terminal illness in most cases raises people’s anxiety to an extent they start thinking about how they might die, how they should be treated in the event and in most cases where they would want to die. Terminal illness can be managed in a number of ways and this requires frequent visits to the hospital or access to a competent caregiver. If I were terminally ill, I would rather die in a hospital. Practically, many people would want to die at the comfort of their homes but this usually changes when they are faced with unexpected ramifications of the illness. As a result, dying at home in most cases is not viable. However, regardless of dying at home or in an institution, the best service that caregivers can offer is peace to the dying and solace to the living. 

Grief has to occur at one point in our lifetime. However, a loss does not signify the end of the road since life has to continue for the living. To cope in the event of the loss of a loved one, it is advisable to consider factors such as joining in rituals. This means the memorial, funeral services or any other forms of traditions which can help individuals through the first few days. It is comforting to be near people who knew your loved one. Other factors to consider include expressing or releasing emotions, talking about the loss whenever one can, preserving the memories and joining a support group. 

Support groups outline therapies to help individuals trying to cope with different situations in life. A trained therapist leads the sessions talking to the group members and sharing ideas on how to deal with anxiety. For the bereaved individuals, a support group helps through coping where the affected share their experiences and encourage each other through the tough times. An effective support group should have features such as gives new support members a starter kit, reaches out to a diverse group of guest speakers, has an agenda plan for each meeting and keeps track of all the members of the group.