A person is dead if their brain dies or when all electrical activities stop. Death systems include people, time, places or context, objects, and symbols. Different people have unique attitudes towards death and such can depend on the age of a person. For example, children view death as not permanents while adolescents see it as improbable. Adults, on the other hand, have increased consciousness on the same. Grief is an emotional, psychological and physical experience of loss. Erick Lindeman and Sigmund Freud are the major contributors of grieving theories (Berger, 005). The two recognize grieving as a short-term process that one should detach from after a year or two. Once the detachment is complete one can easily establish new relationships.
The grieving stage allows the bereaved to decide what to maintain as the memories of the deceased. The stage can lead to confusion and in some instances, it can contribute to stagnant responses. An individual can turn out to be dysfunctional at the grief stage leading to significant challenges in trying to move forward. Grief can also occur from psychological or physical changes that cannot be attributed to death (Berger, 005). Grieving does not have a universal pattern and according to theorists, the pattern gradually moves through a process of shock and disbelief to a state of being preoccupied with the memories of the dead person. Lastly, an individual will make a resolution. According to studies, there are significant variations that include high to low distress, prolonged distress or no intense distress.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Children have a capacity to mourn or grief just like adults. A child, for example, can suffer from the loss of a close family member. Such children to some extent they are likely to copy the grieving patterns of other close family members. The way a child reacts depends on other factors like their attachment to the deceased and their level of development. Similarly, their ability to comprehend what has just happened and the nature of death can determine the way that a child reacts to death (Berger, 005). Children who are below 2 years are not aware of death. However, if the mother dies, such children can show some form of denial of despair or protest. They can even be detached from the caregivers or other family members.
Children who are aged 2-6 believe that death can be reversed or avoided. Such children can conceptualize the issue and some can even mourn. Children at this age can also think that the dead are just asleep and they have feelings just like the living. As children grow, they start to understand death and are aware that it is irreversible. They start to develop an abstract of what death is and as they grow, they have a realistic understanding of what death is.
There are four components of grief as identified by Sidney Zisook. The four include separation distress where an individual feels anxious, helpless, pain, anger, shame and lonely, A child age 6-12, for example, can have such feelings if a loved one for example parent or sibling dies. Another component is traumatic distress where a child at the age of 6-12 can experience a state of disbelief, intrusion, shock and can even try to avoid the intrusion and the emotional changes that they are facing (Berger, 005). The third component is quilt which can be associated with remorse and regrets. The last component is withdrawal a child who has lost a loved one can encounter the four components but from a different perspective. Their reaction to the death and the contribution of the other factors can easily affect their ability to cope and the way that they will react.
The grieving process can significantly affect ted by several factors like if the death was anticipated or not. Similarly, the level of connection and the nature and circumstances of the loss can affect the grieving process and recovery of an individual. A child aged 6-12 can be affected by the loss leading to detachment and loneliness. Such children can easily come with the loss if they can establish new relations during the grieving process. The recovery period can be affected by the ability of the children to accept the loss and to establish new relationships. The emotions like sadness, anger, isolation, numbness, and final acceptance of the loss can significantly affect the recovery of a child who lost a loved one. Such children can also be affected by cultural practices that can enhance or worsen their recovery from the loss.
Elisabeth Kubler identifies five stages of grief that are discussed below. Denial is the first stage and is the refusal consciously or unconsciously to accept the reality concerning the situation. It is a natural defense mechanism that is undergone by different people. Anger is the second stage that an individual undergoes. It is manifested in emotional behaviors like being angry to close friends or self. The third stage is bargaining and involves acts of trying to bargain with God for a compromise. Some, for example, would like to maintain a fa riendship. Bargains offer no solution to the bereaved since there is no alternative to the situation at hand. Depression is another stage and is also known as a preparatory to grieving. It is a practical approach to the aftermath of the loss. It is a kind of acceptance and an individual maintains emotional attachment (Kübler-Ross, 1969). The bereaved feels sad, fearful, and uncertain or even regret. The last stage is acceptance and is associated with emotional detachment and being objective. Acceptance depends on the situation of each individual and it depends on the circumstances of each case.
References
Berger, K. S. (2005). The developing person through the lifespan (6th ed.). New York: Worth.
Kübler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. [New York]: Macmillan.
Kübler-Ross, E. (1975). Death; The final stage of growth. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall.
