Complicated Factors in the Grieving Process
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• Was it sudden
• Was it considered untimely
• Mode of death
• Ambiguity of death

Factors involving the relationship

• What was the identification with the lost person
• What the relationship really close
• Was their unresolved conflict
• Was their excessive dependence on the lost person

Factors related to the survivor's psychological traits

• Unresolved feelings with other losses
• Tendency toward depression
• Difficulty managing loss
• Difficulty expressing feelings
• Extreme dependency
• Tendency to live in the past
• Intellectualization of the death

Factors related to difficulty in expressing feelings

• Suppression of feeling in front of others
• Other losses occurring at the same time
• Expectations by others
• Excessive use of alcohol and drugs
• Isolation from supportive relationships
• Religious beliefs about grief
• A promise not to grieve

Information taken from a handout: Complicating Factors in the Mourning Process, M. Thompson