Reading through the group lossography was difficult at times, because some of the losses written made me emotional. Honestly, I enjoyed reading through the lossography, by no means do I mean to be insensitive to the losses others faced, I mean it was a very interesting and different read from what I am used to reading. While reading through the lossography I found a common similarity among most of the lossographys’, which is the ritual of having a funeral or a wake after someone has died. A specific example, is when a classmate describes the experiences of his grandfather’s wake (pg.8). I noticed most of the lossographys included some kind of ritual either mourning or celebrating the death of a loved one. I also noticed how age and …show more content…
By listening and being socially supportive for individuals who experienced a significant loss is very important. Also, our society should give people a significant amount of time off to spend with family and cope with the death of a loved one. I believe people need to be more empathetic when interacting with individual’s who lost a loved one. The first theory I will be discussing is the Continuing Bond Theory we covered in lecture. Continuing Bond Theory is about continuing a relationship with a loved one was has died, which helps enhance an individual’s life by continuing this bond (Class notes, 2017). When reading the group lossography I found many classmates who currently practice this theory. For example, a classmate describes the death of their grandmother who played a big role in their life. In their lossogrpahy, the classmate talks about the strong bond and close relationship with their grandmother. After the death of their grandmother, their family has created rituals by having created shirts in their grandmother’s memory, pillows made out of her shirts, and the family gathering together every year for the anniversary of her death (pg. 105). These rituals help keep and play a key role in the classmate’s relationship with their deceased grandmother. The grief theory applies to this example because this classmate engages in rituals every year to keep her grandmother in her memory and to help preserve the close bond they once had. The second concept I will
Even though death is inevitable, it is quite clear that people can devise methods under which they can cope with the loss of their loved ones; for instance, their immediate relatives if not friends. Drawing practical guidelines from this book, one can constructively come up with communication strategies that may have encouragement to those who have lost their loved ones. This initiative encourages
People are important to their friends and family in different ways. Friends and family spend time together because they want to see each other and make everyone feel important. As soon as one loses somebody though, they wish that they had spent more time with that person. “I read them all, but you can’t be mad at me for not answering. It feels like homework, typing and staring at the stupid phone or computer.”
The importance of continuing the bond between the bereaved individual and the deceased is another prominent aspect of current grief theories (Corr & Coolican, 2010). Past theories emphasized letting go of the bereaved individual; however, current theories suggest continuing the bond allows bereaved individuals to learn how to live with the loss of their loved one. Klass et al. (1996) stressed the importance of continuing bonds for parents who have lost a child and allowing parents to continue their relationship with their child past his/her death. This allows the parents to reconstruct their identity and integrate the loss into their lives without severing the relationship they held so close to their heart (Klass, 1996).
The first time I recall learning about death was in Sunday school. I learned that when we die we go to heaven, and that when we go to heaven we will see all of our loved ones who had also gone to heaven. My parents were quite straightforward with me about death and dying. They never made up any elaborate stories about where we go when we die; however, their explanation of where babies come from is a different story.
Whether death is sudden or prolonged, anticipated or unexpected, it leaves many family members and friends feeling the effects of loss. Eventually they are expected to come to terms with the death and eventually let go and move on. All human cultures participate in ritual mourning, a set of symbolic rites and ceremonies associated with death. The rituals associated with death have a clear and important function. According to sociologists Victor Marshall and Judith Levy, “Rituals provide a…means through which societies simultaneously seek to control the disruptions of death and to make it meaningful…The funeral exists as a formal means to accomplish the work of completing a biography, managing grief, and
The bereaved person will always be encouraged within a supportive, caring and trusting atmosphere, to be themselves, to be able to express themselves and to talk about what they want to talk about and feel they need to talk about, in that they are to be listened to carefully and with compassion, that they are never going to be judged, and that there is patience, understanding and encouragement that is healthy and positive for them.
Funerals are some of the most difficult activities for most individuals to experience, especially when they involve the death of a loved one. Over the years, there has grown a common and yet distinct American custom when it comes to how funerals are perceived and conducted (James 348). However, most Americans still hold unto the traditional funerals as opposed to modern ones. Unfortunately, the American funeral customs put a lot of more emphasis on some activities that turn out to be very costly. Worst of all, the economic burden that this traditions put on the bereaved families is even more detrimental.
It Makes Things Easier For Those Left Behind: The best thing you can do for your loved ones after your passing is let them grieve in peace without worrying about time-sensitive funeral arrangements. When you handle funeral planning while there
Over the first half of this semester, we have learned many different concepts and phases regarding the death of a loved one. Overall, we have started to learn and recognize the application of general psychology according to funeral service. Throughout the first half of the semester we have been taught the different reactions and responses people experience during the emotion of grief. Everyone is different, every culture is different and every religion is different so it is important to learn the psychology surrounding these areas when regarding the death of a loved one. Throughout this paper, I will be outlining some major topics we have learned thus far in the semester and I will also be giving some personal viewpoints.
When dealing with grief clinicians need to actively listen to their clients, provide empathy and openness, and make sure the client is in a situation that is nonjudgemental. Clinicians needs to be trained in these techniques when dealing with disasters that involve death. Clinicians also need to reassure clients that it is okay to vent the uncomfortable feelings the person maybe feeling.
The funeral ritual is a public tradition that is symbolic to all cultures. It expressing our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about both our religion and the deceased. It helps to recognise the deceased for who they were and it reinforces the reality of a loved one's death. All take comfort from it and value it's importance to the grieving process. The Catholic funeral rite is split into several different stations.
When one takes this time off to grieve the ultimate goal is to be able to be mentally strong walking back onto your floor. The authors in our text book talk about five themes that have to deal with grieving: coping, affect, change, narrative, and relationship. I feel as if change is the most important because your live will be changed as
Ever noticed an elderly couple performing normal daily activities and think to yourself, what would they do without one another? Many of us have elderly relatives who are either married or have someone with whom they have a tight bond with, such as a best friend, and we believe they keep each other alive. We are all born to die, but how we cope with death is different. When someone dies, persons affected may feel depressed, sad and even angry. Looking at death from a different perspective, such as a loved one going to a better place, instead of a loss can cause relatives to celebrate. This is usually the case when the cause of death is natural. When death of a spouse is because of a traumatic event, love ones are left with
Although we do not think of human suffering as beneficial, especially while in the midst of it, research concludes otherwise. Hurst suggests that individuals can learn important life lessons as a result of their suffering. The first benefit we can learn when suffering from loss is that life is precious. Although we may wish we would have said things or did things in the past prior to losing a loved one, knowing the feeling of regret can push us to do better, and to be better. We can take the suffering and make something positive out of it, and learn from our mistakes (Hurst, 2015).
According to Foundation for a Mindful Society (2015), we can come to appreciate the necessity of sadness, how it grounds us and keeps us from becoming superficially cheerful and glossing over real pain. I believe it is a great idea to let a person grieve, and be there when they are ready to talk and acknowledge the pain.