Transcript WALKING THROUGH GRIEF

WALKING THROUGH GRIEF
Betty Dillingham, ACSW, LCSW
Gibson General Hospital
Senior Enrichment Program
at Hope House
Princeton, IN
(812-385-9287)
[email protected]
LEARNER OBJECTIVES:
1. BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHAT TO EXPECT
DURING GRIEF
2. BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WAYS TO COPE WITH
THE PAIN OF GRIEF
WHAT IS GRIEF?
WHAT TO EXPECT DURING GRIEF
What is Normal?
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Eating and sleeping patterns are disrupted
Inability to concentrate
Roller coaster emotions
Shift in role
Responses of others
EATING AND SLEEPING PATTERNS
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Eating too much or not enough
Dehydration
Sleeping too much or not enough
Flashbacks
Dreaming/nightmares
INABILITY TO CONCENTRATE
• Cannot focus on what is being said or read
• Not seeing
ROLLER COASTER EMOTIONS
• Disbelief
• Feelings of going
crazy
• Sadness
• Emptiness
• Regret
• Guilt
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Loneliness
Anxiety
Crying/inability to cry
Anger
Upsurges of grief
Relief
PHYSICAL ACHES/PAINS
• Aches: stomach, head, neck, back
• Unexplained pains throughout body
SHIFT IN ROLE
• Becoming the primary breadwinner (financial
woes)
• Emotional conflict (who will I turn to ?)
• Family responsibilities
• Household responsibilities
• Change in place of residence
• We to me
RESPONSES OF OTHERS
• People being overly protective (bossy)
• People minimizing a person’s loss
• People stating or implying that a person has
grieved long enough (It is time to move on,
get over it)
WAYS TO COPE WITH GRIEF
• Turn into the pain
• Look at beliefs
• Move away from asking
why
• Avoid isolation
• Seek out caring people
• Avoid making major life
changes
• Allow for time between
endings and new
beginnings
• Be attentive to health
• Be patient with self and
others
• Look for a “corner
turning”
• Seek professional help
• Create a new relationship
with the loved one
Resource Acknowledgements
• The Journey of Grief series, Doug Manning,
In-Sight Books,Inc. Oklahoma City, OK
• Taking the Time You Need to Grieve Your Loss,
Kathlyn S. Baldwin, LCSW, Care Notes, Abbey
Press, St. Meinrad, IN
Resources (cont.)
• Motherless Daughters, The Legacy of Loss
By Hope Edelman
A Delta Book, Published by Dell Publishing
New York, NY