A purpose of our work was to research the presence of anxiety, depression, stress, ability to cope with emotions and prolonged grief in individuals with experience of losing a loved one. In addition, their differences in regards to a type and time passed from the loss were also in our interest.
The research encompassed 250 participants, 210 of women and 40 of man genders. All age groups were included. The average age of the participants was 44 years. With a special questionnaire Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), presence of prolonged grief disorder was assessed and evaluated. For quantitative measures of distress including presence of depression, anxiety and stress, a designated scale Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS 21) was utilized. For measurement of coping with emotions, a short version of a questionnaire of coping with emotions Emotion Approach Coping scale (EAC) was used. Results of the research revealed that decrease of functionality of the mourners is dependent on their ability to cope with emotions and thus statistically significantly differ. The results of the study showed that the decline in functionality in mourners is statistically significantly different from coping with emotions in the grieving process. We statistically confirmed that an important difference exists in the experience of anxiety and depression with respect to the type of the loss or who we lost. Namely, anxiety and depression are prevalent in those who lost a close relative. The prolonged grief disorder significantly differs among participants who experienced the loss in the last three years and those who experienced their loss more than three years ago. Also, we confirmed a difference in all measured variables depending on whether the participants experienced or not counseling support from their environment toward their anticipating re-integration into their daily life.
Passing of a loved one causes major distress and deep scars in the life of an individual. The mourners lose their sense of security and realize that finding their new meaning in life is difficult. Very strong emotions and feelings are coming through. Hence, these individuals need a lot of support, compassion, acceptance and above all being heard where there is no room for advice. The mourners can express their feelings and thoughts symbolically through mourning rituals. By doing so, they alleviate their grief and can better grasp the meaning of death. Also, these rituals enable mourners to connect and cooperate as well as support each other. This gives a high value to the mourners in their next steps in life.
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