Health ShortsGrieving & Support
Dealing with Loss
The holidays are fraught with emotional intensity, especially for those who have lost loved ones. If you've suffered a recent loss, give yourself time to think about and acknowledge loved ones. Many find it helps to plan a family remembrance. It might take the form of telling stories about that person, remembering them in prayer before the meal, lighting a candle in their honor or looking at photo albums with family. The important thing is to recognize your loss and try to find comfort in the support of loved ones. Specialized Grief Therapy Helps
It’s normal to experience long and difficult periods of grief after the death of a loved one, but 10 to 20 percent of grieving persons have a more severe reaction, known as complicated grief.
Persons with complicated grief tend to have recurring thoughts, pervasive sadness, guilt and loss of interest in daily activities but without all of the physical symptoms of major depression (loss of appetite, weight loss, frequent and early awakening from sleep).
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that more than half of subjects getting therapy tailored specifically for complicated grief reported significant improvement while only 28 percent of subjects getting traditional psychotherapy reported improvement.
[SOURCE: “Finding help for overwhelming grief,” Johns Hopkins Medical Letter, July, 2006] Supportive Care Improves Outcomes
Supportive care-which considers the social, psychological and spiritual needs of the patient as well as pain control-is an important adjunct to cancer therapy, according to a recent review of research. Patients with gastrointestinal cancer given supportive care in addition to chemotherapy fared better than those given chemotherapy alone, both in terms of survival and quality of life. The authors wrote: "Adding comprehensive supportive care to chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer improves patients' outcomes."
[SOURCE: "Chemotherapy and Supportive Care Are a Winning Combination," Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week, August 14, 2004] Supportive Home Care for Stroke
A Canadian study comparing 58 stroke patients who returned home after 10 days in the hospital with 59 patients who received care in the hospital setting for 16 days, found the group who returned home early fared better. The early discharge group, who continued to receive physical, occupational and speech therapy at home, felt better, functioned better in daily living activities and in social settings.
[SOURCE: Stroke, July 31, 2000] Treating Emotional, Social Consequences
Most pancreatic cancers are discovered late and even the 20 percent of persons with tumors detected early enough for surgery have a five-year survival rate of only 17 percent. What’s most important in treatment is helping the patient and family deal with the emotional and social consequences and make treatment decisions based on maintaining a good quality of life. In some facilities, specialist nurses are assigned to support the patient and family through the cancer experience.
[SOURCE: Deborah Fitzsimmons, “Pancreatic Cancer: Optimising the Patient Experience,” Cancer Nursing Practice, December, 2003] Watch Your Health When Grieving
Grief related to the loss of a close family member has physical as well as emotional effects. Studies show that about half of widows develop depression in the year after a spouse’s death. They also show reduced activity of immune cells and increased levels of stress hormones that, over time, can result in reduced immunity, increased blood pressure and cholesterol and abnormal heart rhythms.
[SOURCE: “Grief takes no holiday,” Harvard Women’s Health Watch, December, 2002] When Grief Becomes Overwhelming
The death of a loved one is never easy to accept, but some circumstances increase the likelihood of intense grieving. These include a sudden or unexpected death; the death of a child or young person; a suicide; or a violent death.
Grief is intensified in persons who had a particularly close or dependent relationship with the deceased and in those who have experienced other major losses or bouts of depression.
[SOURCE: Ellen jaffe-Gill, Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal, “Coping with grief and loss,” helpguide.org, last modified December 14, 2007] | ArchiveAIDS & HIV |
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