Demonstrate knowledge of "loss" by comparing and contrasting the concept of bereavement, mourning, and grief. Be sure to provide examples for each concept and to describe normal grief reactions. How does normal grief differ from a prolonged or complicated grief reaction?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Though the three terms are often used interchangeably, mourning, bereavement, and grief are not synonymous. Bereavement is the most general of the terms, and refers to a state or condition that is caused by a loss through death. Bereavement involves grief (a set of emotions related to a loss, such as anger, hurt, sadness, or confusion) and mourning (a set of actions or practices that are an expression of one's grief). It would be useful to think of mourning as a set of rituals, though it does not always involve a formalized set of rules (such as Shiva in Judaism). While normal grief is difficult to define and quantify, prolonged or complicated grief involves life-interrupting reactions that can include separation distress or traumatic distress.

Separation distress involves preoccupation with the person who was lost to the point of interruption of everyday functioning, upsetting memories of the deceased, longing and searching for the deceased, and isolation. Traumatic distress involves disbelief about the death, mistrust, anger, and detachment as a result of the death, feeling shocked by the death, and the experience of the physical presence of the deceased.