Let’s begin our journey discussing grief and bereavement by defining terminology: What is grief? Grief, by definition is pain of the mind produced by a loss or misfortune (Minority Nurse, 2013). Grief can be related to the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, a divorce, or other traumatic life change (Minority Nurse, 2013). When a person loses someone very close to them for any reason, they go through a process called grieving. This process is normal and usually helps the person accept and understand their loss (American Cancer Society, 2014; Snyder, 2009). Grief is the emotional feeling that a person goes through and is related to how they “see” and understand the loss (Kazanowski, 2013). What is bereavement? Bereavement is the state of being deprived or …show more content…
There are many different emotions, actions, and expressions associated with grieving, which helps the person come to terms with their loss. Not everyone has the same reaction to grief because every loss is different (American Cancer Society, 2014). The personal experience of dying or losing a loved one can be very difficult, especially if the death is unexpected compared to a person who has been ill for a long time (Kazanowski, 2014). Grieving includes the whole emotional process of coping with a loss and it can last a long time for some people. Grieving allows people to let the person close to them go so they can keep living in a healthy way (American Cancer Society, 2014). Grieving has been described in stages, but it does not really feel that way to the bereaved person who has ups and downs, much like a roller coaster ride. Sometimes a person feels better for a little while then becomes sad again (American Cancer Society, 2014). The relationship between the person who died and the person grieving, along with the circumstances of the death, and one’s own life experiences affect the grieving process (American Cancer Society,