Domains of Grief: Spiritual
When we experience a loss we can experience the loss of a mirror in our life. For example, if someone had a child die, the question that may arise is, “Am I still a mother/father?” Another example that is not death related may be, “My parent is in jail. What does my life look like now without my parent?”
Domains of Grief: Physical
The body has a role in grief! It may seem like an obvious statement, and yet, it seems like it can easily be missed in some contexts. Grief does naturally result in our body responding to the stress of the loss.
Domains of Grief: Social
The social domain of grief is looking at a mourner's experience engaging with the world. As was introduced in a post a few weeks ago introducing the domains of grief, there are potentially two different perspectives to consider when looking at this domain. As a reminder, the first facet is if friends and/or family withdraw due their own need to not be around grief, lack of knowledge of how to be present for someone, etc. and the result is isolation. The second facet is on the part of the person experiencing the grief and their potential reactions to socially isolate, detach, avoid reminders of the loss, or refrain from asking for support.
Domains of Grief: Cognitive
So when a loved one dies, you can no longer find the person in time and space and the brain struggles to understand that based on previous learning. The neural architecture of a bond with another enables a belief that the loved one still exists even though there is substantial evidence saying the opposite (O'Connor & Seeley, 2022).
Domains of Grief: Emotions
Emotions serve a purpose in our lives. Some people have learned to embrace their feelings while others have been taught to stuff them away. There is also a continuum within embracing and stuffing emotions away. These lessons are learned via our culture, family culture, and from individuals, consciously or unconsciously.
Domains of Grief: An Introduction
With some of the basics of grief covered, it is time to do a little bit more of an exploration so that we can learn more about grief. Readers be warned! Learning about grief can remind you of your own grief. That is okay. Grief is not something we get over. Rather it is something we integrate into our lives. The below quote drives this point home.
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