Grief, Loss and Separation
Grief is a strong, sometimes overwhelming emotion for people, regardless of whether their
sadness stems from the loss of a loved one or from a terminal diagnosis they or someone
they love have received. They might find themselves feeling numb and removed from daily
life, unable to carry on with regular duties while saddled with their sense of loss.
Grief is the natural reaction to loss. Grief is both a universal and a personal experience.
Individual experiences of grief vary and are influenced by the nature of the loss.
Loss
Some examples of loss include the death of a loved one, the ending of an
important relationship, job loss, loss through theft or the loss of independence through
disability. Experts advise those grieving to realize they cant control the process and to
prepare for varying stages of grief. Understanding why there suffering can help, as can
talking to others and trying to resolve issues that cause significant emotional pain, such as
feeling guilty for a loved ones death. Mourning can last for months or years. Generally,
pain is tempered as time passes and as the bereaved adapts to life without a loved one, to
the news of a terminal diagnosis or to the notion that someone they love may die. If you´re
uncertain about whether your grieving process is normal, consult your health care
professional. Outside help is sometimes helpful to people trying to recover and adjust to a
death or diagnosis of a terminal illness.
Separation
To understand separation anxiety disorder, it is important to first recognize
the normal difficulty that infants and toddlers have with strangers and in separating from
parents and caretakers. Infants show stranger anxiety by crying when someone unfamiliar
to them approaches. This normal stage of development is connected with the baby
learning to distinguish his or her parents or other familiar caretakers from people they dont
know. Stranger anxiety usually starts at about 8 months of age and ends by 2 years of
age. In addition to the childs temperament, factors that contribute to how quickly or
successfully he or she moves past separation anxiety by preschool age include how well
the parent and child reunite, the skills the child and adult have at coping with the
separation, and how well the adult responds to the infants separation issues. For
example, children of anxious parents tend to be anxious children. Separation anxiety
disorder is a mental health disorder that begins in childhood and is characterized by
worrying that is out of proportion to the situation of temporarily leaving home or otherwise
separating from loved ones. Approximately 4%-5% of children and adolescents suffer from
separation anxiety disorder.