Biopsychosocial Issues related to Death, Dying, and Bereavement
The most common strategy for dealing with death is avoidance, because death is a somewhat taboo topic in society. American culture unfortunately has a rather negative and evasive way of dealing with death. Individuals who have not accomplished all that they had hoped are more likely to fear death.
Dying generally takes place in three phases: 1) The agonal phase, which refers to the spasms during the first moments in which the body cannot sustain life anymore, 2) clinical death, the short interval in which heartbeat, circulation, breathing, and brain functioning steps, however, resuscitation is still possible, and 3) mortality, or permanent death.
Modern medical advances have resulted in prolonged death for ¾ of people, although the actual dying is sometimes less painful because of medicine.
In an article by Robert Connelly, he suggests that an excessive reliance on medical concepts to define the dying process results in the image of death as the enemy and that a shift from a commitment to prolonging life to an affirmation of dying could help people better face death (45-63).
Bereavement is the painful loss of a loved one through death that an individual must cope with when a friend, relative, or spouse dies. According to theorist John Boulby, grieving is a four stage process including, 1) numbness, 2) yearning, 3) disorganization and despair, and finally, 4) reorganization. It is important to remember that grief does not always follow a path, but there are apparent patterns (Weiten & Lloyd 327).
Just as people’s reactions to dying are unique, there are also variable responses to bereavement. In a study by Neimeyer, Prigerson, and Davies, the researches noted that the meaning of loss is expressed as both individual and collective attempts at adaptation (235-251). This shows the importance of family and friends, as well as the basic passage of time.
Social
support is crucial in the aftermath of death, although many times it is
difficult to provide for various reasons. Self-help groups can provide
extra social support.