FEELINGS THAT CAN BE EXPERIENCED ARE:
SADNESS: usually manifested by crying. Tears are healing so allow
them.
ANGER: is frequently experienced after a loss. It can be one of
the most confusing feelings for the survivor. We may feel angry
towards:
1) The person who has died, the doctor, other health care professionals,
other people, their spouse and themselves.
2) Friends who still have their loved ones.
3) God.
GUILT: 1) Many people blame themselves by thinking that something
they did or something they neglected to do may have in some way
contributed to the death.
2) We often begin to think of all kinds of things we could have
done for our loved one.
3) Some parents feel the death is a punishment for past sins and
transgressions. Usually the cause for these guilt feelings is irrational
thoughts. We need to talk them through with someone and also learn
to forgive ourselves.
ANXIETY /FEAR: A general fear that something else terrible and
devastating could suddenly happen to hurt us when they know we
are so vulnerable.
LONELINESS: Intense feelings of loneliness and emptiness often
accompanied by a deep aching desire to hold and touch the loved
one again. A feeling of deadness.
FATIGUE: Can be experienced as apathy or lislessness.
THOUGHTS: That are common in the early stages of grieving. They
usually disappear after a short time.
CONFUSION: Thinking is confused, difficulty in ordering thoughts,
in concentrating and making decisions.
PREOCCUPATIONS: Obsession with thoughts of the person. These coupled
with other grief reactions make some people feel they are going
to pieces. They fear they are going crazy.
PHYSICAL SENSATIONS THAT MAY BE EXPERIENCED
Hollowness in the stomach. Tightness in the chest. Tightness
in the throat. Over sensitivity to noise. Breathlessness, feeling
short of breath. Dry mouth. Weakness in the muscles. Lack of energy.
A sense of depersonalisation- "I walk down the street and
nothing seems real, including myself”
BEHAVIOURS THAT MAY OCCUR
SLEEP
DISTURBANCES: It is not unusual for people who are in the
early stages of grief to experience sleep disturbances. At night
you may go over the event again and again. Sleep disturbances sometime
require medical intervention, but for many people it corrects itself
unaided.
APETITE DISTURBANCES: Can be overeating or under eating. Under
eating is more common.
ABSENT MINDED: Newly
bereaved may find themselves acting in an absent¬minded way
or doing things that may cause themselves inconvenience.
SOCIAL WITHDRAWL: Some
wish to withdraw from other people. Usually a short-lived feeling.
DREAMS OF THE DECEASED: It is very common to dream of the dead
person. They can be normal kinds of dreams or distressing dreams
or nightmares.
SERCHING AND CALLING OUT: Not infrequently somebody may call out
the name of the loved person with an associated comment.
SIGHING: Frequently seen among the bereaved. It closely resembles
the physical sensation of breathlessness.
RESTLESS OVERACTIVITY: A
need to be always doing something.
CRYING: Tears relieve
emotional distress.
VISITING PLACES OR CARRING OBJECTS: That remind the survivor of
the deceased.
TREASURING OBJECTS: That belonged to the deceased.
GRIEVING: Is something that takes time. Professionals have attempted
to put a time to it based on their studies of bereavement and have
quoted two years. This is an average assessment and it can vary
greatly from person to person.
TO TALK: Is a necessary precondition to the resolution of grief