To adequately investigate the complex phenomenon of grief in nursing, we must dive deep into its different physical, mental, social, and spiritual aspects. Grief is viewed as a complex and dynamic emotional reaction, which is inspired by a loss of importance – Psychically, grief may be paralleled with various symptoms, including a radio of fatigue, appetite alterations, sleep disturbances, and sometimes even pains (Bartel, 2020). This, in part, can be explained by how physical body symptoms are often felt along with the emotional distress experienced during the stage of mourning.
In terms of the psyche, a wide variety of responses are a part of the grief process, such as mourning, disappointment, anger, remorse, tension, and shock or numbness, to list just a few. The impact of stress also extends to the cognitive abilities of people, who might, for example, encounter difficulties in focusing or making decisions (Jacobsen & Petersen, 2020). Socially, it can distort one’s relationships and socializing; people often crave aloofness or inability to join social events. This is the time they use to cope with their loss.
Furthermore, many people also have a holistic religious perspective, wherein issues concerning the make of life, death, and life after death are inquired. The spiritual aspect is decisive in the loss, which may be a source of strength and stability. It gives you a viewpoint to process the experience of bereavement.
Researchers have presented different models of mourning, anticipatory grief, disenfranchised grief, complicated grief, and more regarding the forms of loss. In the case of anticipatory grief, an individual struggles with the future loss of a beloved person prior to the actual demise; this is most common with people dealing with terminal illnesses (Jacobsen & Petersen, 2020). Disenfranchised grief can be described as sentiments of loss that are not socially validated or openly acknowledged, such as grieving the loss of a pet or the other type of grief that follows loss that is not death-related, like divorce (Bartel, 2020). Complex grieving can be a prolonged and strenuous emotional process related to the deepest wish to see the lost person again or to understand and accumulate the loss. While traumatic grief results from sudden and unexpected losses, possibly with the accompaniment of traumatic circumstances like an accident or violence, mourning is a process that is stretched over more extended periods.
When talking about culture-specific aspects, people would show different behaviors in coping with and grieving from loss. Among them is a rite of passage in which cultural mourning customs and practices might be displayed; whether or not this occurs depends on the culture involved. Also, people’s attitudes toward death and dying and what they believe about the afterworld can be set forth by how individuals perceive and deal with a loss (Jacobsen & Petersen, 2020). Of course, gender-related cases are not the only ones that deal with cultural norms when regulating how children and elders are supposed to convey their grief. Moreover, casualty can have cultural implications as some kinds of dying might carry cultural stigmas while others can carry different cultural significances in specific cultures.
Finally, grief is a plural and complicated phenomenon combining physical, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects. Because they are responsible for bringing patients and their grieving family members back on track, it becomes necessary and even part of their job to be an expert in grief management and cultural specifics, by following which they would be able to provide potentially healing and culturally adapted care.
Reference
Bartel, B. T. (2020). Families grieving together: Integrating the loss of a child through ongoing relational connections. Death Studies, 44(8), 498-509.
Jacobsen, M., & Petersen, A. (2020). Exploring grief. Taylor and Francis.
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