Managing Stress and Coping with Loss

1. Managing Stress and Coping with Loss Chapter 4: Sec 3 Coping with Loss Pp. 89-92

2. Objectives • Describe the effects of loss. • Name the stages of the grieving process. • Describe how funerals, wakes, and memorial services help people cope with the loss of a loved one. • Propose ways a person can cope with the loss of a loved one.

3. List all things that came to mind as you listened to the song …

4. Do NowBell ringer Activity • List as many different types of loss as you can think of: • Give examples of the effects of loss:

5. Critical Thinking • What is your interpretation of the statement listed below? • Healthy children will not fear life, if their parents have integrity enough not to fear death. -Erik Erikson • Why are we so afraid of death, and what causes us to die?

6. Attitudes Toward Death and Dying: Cultural and Age Variations • Cultures around the world interpret and respond to death in widely different ways. • Permanence • Once a living thing dies, it cannot be brought back to life • Universality • All living things eventually die • Nonfunctionality • All living functions, including thought, movement, and vital signs end at death.

7. Grief: Lessons in Survival • What do I do now that you’re gone? Well, when there’s nothing else going on, which is quite often, I sit in a corner and I cry until I am too numbed to feel. Paralyzed motionless for awhile, nothing moving inside or out. Then I think how much I miss you. Then I feel fear, pain, loneliness, desolation. Then I cry until I am too numbed to feel. Interesting pastime. -Peter McWilliams, How to Survive the Loss of a Love

8. The Grieving Process • Grieve is to express sadness of a loss. • The Five Stages of the Grieving Process • Denial: “This can’t be happening to me!” • Refuse to believe a loss has occurred • Anger: “Why me? It’s not fair.” • Rage or blame self and/or others for the loss • Bargaining: “I ‘d do anything to have him back.” • Make promises to change if the person they lost is returned to them/to avoid what is the truth • Depression: “There is no hope. I’m so sad. I just want to be alone.” • Feeling sadness when you experience loss • Acceptance: “It’s going to be OK.” • Begin to learn how to live with a loss

9. Types of Ceremonies • Wake • A ceremony to view or watch over the deceased person before the funeral. • Funeral • A ceremony in which a deceased person is buried or cremated. • Memorial Service • A ceremony to remember the deceased person.

10. Help for Dealing with a Loss • Get plenty of rest and relaxation, but try to stick to any routines you kept before the loss. • Share memories and thoughts about the deceased. • Express your feelings by crying or by writing in a journal • If the loss was unintentional, do not blame yourself or others.

11. Helping Others • Show your support through simple actions, such as offering to run errands or cook a meal. • Let the person know that you are there for him or her, and allow the person to talk about his or her thoughts and feelings. • Tell the person that you have faith that he or she is strong and will learn to live with this loss. • If the person seems depressed, avoids family and friends, or doesn’t seem to be making any progress, tell a trusted adult.

12. Closure • List the five stages of grieving. • What is the difference between a funeral and a memorial services? • Explain how a wake, funeral, or memorial service can help with the grieving process.