Coping with bereavement

Over the course of a lifespan, most people will be confronted with the loss of a close relationship: if attachments have been formed, one is likely to have to suffer the consequences of separation. The term ‘bereavement’ refers to the situation of a person who has recently experienced the loss of someone significant in their lives through that person’s death (see ‘Coping with death and dying’). The loss of a family member – such as a parent, partner, sibling or child – are typical examples, although the death of other important relationships – such as a meaningful friendship, classmate or good neighbour – may also be significant. Bereavements evoke grief, which can be defined as a primarily emotional (affective) reaction to the loss through death of a loved one. Affective reactions include yearning and pining and intense feelings of distress over the loss of the deceased person. Grief also incorporates diverse psychological and physical manifestations. The former type of manifestation includes cognitive and social-behavioural reactions such as self-blame and withdrawal from others. The latter includes physiological/somatic reactions, such as head- and stomach ache, and increased vulnerability to diseases. Sometimes mourning is used interchangeably with grief. However, there are good reasons to define mourning as the social expressions or acts expressive of grief that are shaped by the practices of a given society or cultural group. It is worth noting that researchers following the psychoanalytic tradition often use the term ‘mourning’ rather than ‘grief ’ to denote the psychological reaction to bereavement.