Education and Resources on Grief
Grief comes in as many forms as there are individuals. Grief and loss come from more than just losing a loved one; it can a person, animal, relationship, career, potential future, independence, identity and many others things.
Definitions
Grief - The emotional response to loss
Mourning - The outward expression of grief, often includes cultural or religious acts or rituals.
Complex or Prolong Grief Disorder - A diagnosable condition with specific criteria, often needing professional supports
Types of Grief
Anticipatory Grief - often seen in families when an individual is diagnosed with a medical condition, such as Alzheimer’s. The person is still alive but the individual is changing and relationships are being lost.
Ambiguous Grief - an example is when an individual is not found but gone and closure is limited.
Delayed Grief- Grief that is delayed, such as not acknowledging the death of an individual
Masked Grief
Exaggerated Grief
Inhibited Grief - seen as a maladaptive response by others, that the individual is not showing any signs of typical grief responses. It often is not a problem to the individual but concerns those around them. There is no one right way to grieve.
Abbreviated Grief - can be seen by others as not grieving long enough. An example is when a spouse remarries quickly after the prolonged illness and death of their partner.
Disenfranchised Grief - when the grief is not honoured by individuals, such as when the ex-spouse of an individual is seen to not need to grief as they have been separated for a significant period of time.
Cumulative Grief - when multiple losses occur without the time and resources to process each one individually. It is a not case of 1+1+1=3, but maybe 1+1+1= 5
Collective Grief- This is seen in a society when a loss effects many people, even if the loss was not a personal one. An example of this would be 911.
Models of Grief
We have looked at the grieving process as a set of five stages but ongoing research suggests that model doesn’t fit for everyone or doesn’t fully encapsulate the process.
The Tasks of Grief
The job of grieving is to accept the new reality and honor our loss.
