Bereavement can be defined, "as the objective situation of having lost someone significant, (e., being deprived) and the overall adaptation to loss," (Stroebe, et al., 2001; Stroebe, Hansson, Schut, & Stroebe, 2008). "It usually refers to loss through death, although individuals can be bereaved through other types of losses such as divorce or relocation." (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011, pg 582). .
"The grief process is the complex emotional response to bereavement and, similar to the dying process, can encompass shock and disbelief, guilt, psychological numbness, depression, loneliness, fatigue, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, and anxiety about one's ability to carry on with life. Mourning signifies culturally patterned expectations about the expression of grief. What is believed about the meaning of death, how it should be faced, and what happens after physical death varies widely by culture and it association religious and spiritual practices. Cultural variations are particularly marked with regard to beliefs about the meaning of loss through death, including the possibility of future reunion with the dead, the significance of various, and what to say to oneself and others following a death, (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011, pg 582). .
The Process of Mourning.
After the loss of someone we love and care about, we are in so much pain and we want to know if it will ever end. We feel utterly alone and like no one can possibly imagine our pain. We wonder what we can possibly do to feel better. Grief theories are the academic way to answer those questions. They can, on a good day, give some semblance of rhyme, reason, and direction to the grief process. "A Six-R process of mourning integrates much of what has been written about grief stages, phases, and tasks, and can provide guidelines for family members and professionals." (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011, pg 582). The Six R's are: .
1. Recognize the loss.
