Death is a universal reality therefore we will all be inevitably faced with the loss of a loved one and need to be as prepared as possible for that. 

Loss and grief is not a subject we have approached yet, but unsurprisingly, it extends into almost every area of life. While it is important to consider the loss of a loved one within this framework, it is equally important to be aware of the fact that loss can take many different forms such as a loss of purpose, community or structure.

Social norms can impact how we approach grief but we must experience it in our own intensely unique manner. 

Learning Objectives: from this session, you will learn about:

1. insights around loss and grief 
2. tips on how to support others experiencing this.

During the session, a question was asked about whether there was any research around for dealing with grief from sudden loss versus expected loss.  The below is an excerpt from a recent study (examining grieving problem correlates of anticipation of the death vs. shock among overdose death and suicide bereaved adults by Feigelman, Bottomley and Titlestad, 2023):

“Those experiencing shock and surprise at the death were significantly more likely to have greater grief difficulties; more prolonged grief disorder (PGD) symptoms, PTSD, depression, and anxiety; and to be at higher suicidal risk on our scales. Correspondingly, those anticipating the death were significantly less likely to experience grief problems, PGD and PTSD symptoms. Thus, our data showed that anticipation of the death was associated with helping to insulate the bereaved from grief complications and trauma.”

This research is consistent with most other research but there has not been significant work done in this area.