GRIEF AND LOSS

By: Jessica Oh, Molly Hughes, Holly Hunt, Brooke

Barney
& Emily Kingsley
“There are no happy endings. Endings
are the saddest part. So just give me
a happy middle and a very happy
start.” -Shel Silverstein
 Introduction: Grief and Loss

• Comes with great loss

• Part of the Natural Human Process
• Emotional, physical and spiritual
pain
• Nurse’s role
• Best and worst times
• Ability to provide care
• Taking home our work
 POPULATION

● FOCUSED ON WIDOWED POPULATION

○ About 800,000 people are widowed each year

in the US; there are more than 13 million

widows in the US today (“Widow’s Hope”,

2016)

○ Widowhood can increase the risk death due to

 GRIEF
• DEFINITION: DEEP SORROW TYPICALLY RESULTED
FROM A MAJOR LOSS (LeFevour, 2016).

• SYMPTOMS: SADNESS, FATIGUE, ISOLATION, LACK

OF INTEREST, DEPRESSION, FEELING EMPTY, NOT
PRESENT IN THE MOMENT, LOSS OF APPETITE,
WEIGHT CHANGE, ANXIOUS, FEELING FORGETFUL,
FEELING OF PAIN/ WEAKNESS (LeFevour, 2016).

• MYTHS: EVERYONE DEALS WITH IT THE SAME,

TELLING SOMEONE NOT TO FEEL BAD, KEEP BUSY,
DON’T SHARE YOUR FEELINGS, REPLACE THE LOSS,
KEEP YOURSELF BUSY, BE STRONG (LeFevour, 2016).
 LOSS

• DEFINITION: ANYTHING THAT CANNOT BE RETURNED

TO THE ORIGINAL STATE (LeFevour, 2016).

• EXAMPLES: FAMILY MEMBER, JOB, SELF-VALUE,

MONEY, HEALTH STATUS (LeFevour, 2016).
 HEALTH PROMOTION

• EMOTIONS CAN AFFECT HEALTH

• PROMOTE THE BEST INTERVENTION TO DECREASE
ANXIETY AND STRESS AFTER LOSING A LOVED ONE.
• LOSE APPETITE
• WEIGHT CHANGE
• LACK OF SLEEP
• FATIGUE
 HEALTH
PROMOTION/INTERVENTION
COPING METHODS WHEN THE
. TO
ARE WAYS INDIVIDUALS FEEL
IMPROVE STRESS, LOST, THEY CAN
BUT IT TAKES TIME FIND PEACE
AND PATIENCE. THROUGH THE HELP
OF MEDITATION.

EVEN THOUGH
LOSING SOMEONE MEDITATION ALLOWS
MIGHT SEEM LIKE INDIVIDUALS TO
THE END, THERE ARE REDUCE STRESS
MANY AND INCREASE
INTERVENTIONS TO HAPPINESS.
 WHO BENEFITS FROM
MEDITATION?
• WIDOWS
• NURSES
• DOCTORS
• PATIENTS
• EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO BRING PEACE INTO HIS OR
HER LIFE
 MEDITATION
• THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO
MEDIATE
• DEEP BREATHING
• SELF-IMAGINING
• HEAD HOLDS
• “...bring profound peace, harmony,
and healing to the body, mind, and
emotions” (Cane, 2011, p.3)
• HEART HOLDS

• Decrease emotional pain felt in the

 ARTICLE
HEALTH EXPERIENCES AFTER LOSS (HEAL):
• Education about loss and grief
• INSTRUCTIONS ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND
OTHER COPING SKILLS
• Behavioral activation in the form of homework focused on
self-care plus social re-engagement
• Accommodating loss by setting personal goals
• Relapse prevention/planning for the long term

i
 HOLDING

• HEAD HOLD
• hands touch areas
associated with memories
and emotions
• CROWN HOLD
• promotes emotional release
• HEART HOLD
• helps relieve pain, wounds of
the past, grief and
resentment (Cane, 2011)
 Conclusion
• Loss and Grief is debilitating
but is part of the natural
human process
• there are ways we can
help our patients grieve in
a healthy way
• Meditation techniques such
as Capacitar are useful in
calming people during times
of distress and managing
stress.
• These techniques promote
coping
 Joke of the Day
A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out
during a particularly icy winter. The husband left
Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife
flying down the following day. The husband checked into
the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he
decided to send an email to his wife. However, he
accidentally typed the wrong address. Somewhere in
Houston, a widow had just returned home from her
husband's funeral. The widow decided to check her
email. After reading the first message,she screamed and
fainted. The computer read:
To: My Loving Wife Subject: I've Arrived
I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have
computers here now and you are allowed to send emails
 Teaching

Head Hold Crown Hold Heart Hold

 References

Cane, P. M. (2011). Capacitar emergency response tool kit. Santa Cruz, California:
Capacitar
International, Inc.
Kaplan, J. (2004). Concentration-based meditation guide. Retrieved from
urbanmindfullness.org
LeFevour, M. K. (2016). Grief and loss [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
d2l.arizona.edu.
Litz, B. T., Schorr, Y., Delaney, E., Au, T., Papa, A., Fox, A. B., Morris, S.,
Nickerson, A., Block, S. &
Prigerson, H. G. (2014). A randomized controlled trial of an internet-based
therapist-assisted
indicated preventive intervention for prolonged grief disorder. Behaviour