Navigating Grief: Understanding, Coping & Healing
Learn about the stages of grief, coping mechanisms, and changes in behavior that come with loss. Discover ways to navigate through pain and seek support during difficult times.
Navigating Grief: Understanding, Coping & Healing
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Presentation Transcript
WALKING THROUGH GRIEF Betty Dillingham, ACSW, LCSW Gibson General Hospital Senior Enrichment Program at Hope House Princeton, IN (812-385-9287) bdillingham@gibsongeneral.com
LEARNER OBJECTIVES: • BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHAT TO EXPECT DURING GRIEF • BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WAYS TO COPE WITH THE PAIN OF GRIEF
WHAT TO EXPECT DURING GRIEF What is Normal? • Eating and sleeping patterns are disrupted • Inability to concentrate • Roller coaster emotions • Shift in role • Responses of others
EATING AND SLEEPING PATTERNS • 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 • 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
