Over 5.5 millions of people have died world wide from COVID19 as at January 12th 2022 ,00:00.ourworldindata.org/covid-19-dataset.
Every family goes through grieving process. Grief is mainly the characteristics of a bereavement. It is an internal experience that we go through differently when we lose a loved one. Some schalar have defined grief as” almost a universal pattern of emotional and physical response to bereavement, loss or seperation of a loved one.The Sympathetic portion of the automatic nervous system is stimulated causing increased in heart rate,increase in blood flow to muscles, respiratory rate,dilation of pupils,Sweating, digestion becomes slow,and increased in reservation of energy.
The process of mourning is different for different people and different cultures. America being a country of immigrants. Each culture mourn their lose differently. Bereavement is a state in which a person experiences after death of a loved one or a family member or a close friend.
There are five stages of grief and these are: Denial,Anger,Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. People grief differently so most people don’t go through as it is written in the textbook.
DENIAL STAGE: When someone passes away generally most people are in Denial.It is the Numbness stage.This initial shock or numbness is purely a form of defense mechanism. They can be in denial for a long time. I am often in denial until I see the lifeless body.
ANGER STAGE :How did my father got COVID19 ?. Emotional, life is cruel,unfair.They are very angry pointing fingers and looking for who to blame.They blame the doctors, nurses,and respiratory therapists for not doing their job right.We will sue the hospital for negligence. Outburst of anger can be due to ineffective communication or misunderstanding. For some people their anger doesn’t last for a long time. They go into bargaining stage.
BARGAINING STAGE: In Pain, finding it difficult to accept that a loved one was gone. Is this the will of God that my father will die from COVID19?.I am in so much pain.How do we keep his memories alife?. What went wrong?.Did I contribute to the death of my father?.I wish I was able to visit him often.I hope that he didn’t suffer too much.
DEPRESSION STAGE :Full of sadness. Feeling that life has no meaning anymore.Grief is associated with symptoms of sorrow or loss.Somatic symptoms such as tiredness, lack of energy, mental anguish and so much more.
ACCEPTANCE STAGE : Will this pain eventually ease off?.But as time goes on the pain starts to go away.The process is very gradual.Learning to live again without your love one by keeping their memories close to us.Sometimes counseling is provided to some families to help ease the pain.
SOME NURSING DIAGNOSIS ARE:
Compromised coping related to lose of a loved one due to incorrect information or misunderstanding by the primary person.
Pain related to lose of a loved one.
Anticipatory Grieving.
Activity intolerance related to lose of a loved one or a family member.
Nurses You Move Me 