Understanding the Causes of the Trauma From the Sudden Death of Loved Ones. Free Essay

Death is a sad experience to everyone directly or indirectly affected, but the death of loved ones hurts even more. Traumatic grief is defined as the thoughts and reactions that one experiences after the death of a loved one, usually creating situations whereby the reactions are worse than the sadness itself that the victims of grief went through. Tragic and unexpected deaths of loved ones are likelier to result in traumatic grieving for a loved one compared to the expected death of a loved one. This is because the predicted death gives the people concerned enough time to mentally prepare for the anticipated loss of a loved one, compared to when the death happens suddenly (Krychiw et al., 2018). The disbelief and lack of acceptance of the bereavement are what lead to the trauma, with the victims left hanging from the expectations they had from the departed loved one.

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The sudden death of a loved one usually results in regret if the person grieving was not in good terms with the person who died, leaving them with feelings of guilt and regret, wishing that they could have changed the status of their relationship before their loved one died. These feelings of regret create trauma in the grieving party, and they spend most of the time between the loss and when they can let go of the feelings worrying if they were the cause of the deaths of the loved one, and wondering if they had been in good terms the outcomes would have been different (Zara, 2019). Therefore, the people grieving need to receive reassurance through psychiatric help to help them overcome feelings of regret and guilt from the sudden death of their loved ones.

The sudden death of a loved one also creates a state of worry, especially if the loved one is the breadwinner for the people closest to them. The lack of a breadwinner through tragic death causes trauma in the dependents since they will be left with worry on how their needs will be met, hence creating situations whereby they are in trauma for the lack of a secure future due to the loss of people who were helping them address their basic needs. The people who suffer the most from this kind of trauma are children and spouses to the departed loved one, since they will be left in a state whereby their needs will not be met, and the loss of provision will lead to a state of trauma. Loss of provision will lead to the dependents in a state of constant worry, which will affect their mental stability (McClatchy et al., 2009). Furthermore, the trauma may come from the loss of a source of emotional strength in the people concerned, since the grieving party will be left without a source of emotional and mental solace, which will lead to the possibility of the grieving parties suffering from trauma. When one loses someone that they depended on for mental and emotional strength, they are likely to suffer from trauma from the lack of a confidant who would otherwise have provided them with the emotional and mental strength to deal with the different situations that they would have faced. When one faces difficult situations, they are likely to suffer from trauma. They will be left wondering what would have happened had they been with the departed loved one who provided them with the needed advice and strength to face difficult situations.

The Nature of Trauma from the Sudden Loss of a Loved One

The loss of a loved one to unexpected death is most likely to trigger the emotions that lead to trauma. The trauma suffered from the losses is expected to lead to the buildup of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Therefore, trauma from the sudden loss of a loved one is likely to be a cause of depression, stress, and anxiety, since when a person is grieving, they are likely to suffer from the destabilization of their mental and emotional state, leaving them susceptible to suffering from the effects associated with trauma and other mental illnesses (Eddinger et al., 2019). The loss of close relationships to sudden death causes the existence of trauma to the people left behind. Therefore they are likely to experience trauma if they do not receive the necessary emotional support and professional psychiatric help if the situations continue to be persistent. The loss of a loved one is likelier to cause trauma in the grieving parties since loved ones form part of self-identity of people and their lives are intertwined such that the loss of a loved one leaves an emotional and mental hole that cannot be filled despite the intervention of the people around the grieving parties.

The deaths of loved ones are generally painful. However, the sudden loss of loved ones triggers even stronger responses due to the lack of time for them to adapt and mentally prepare for the possibility of loss, as in the case of gradual deaths, which give them time to prepare themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally. Therefore, the sudden loss of a loved one leaves those grieving in a state whereby they experience emotional and mental trauma, leading to the buildup of conditions that may result in psychological conditions and the grieving members turning to drug and substance abuse as a means to help them cope with the conditions that they experience (Bhaskaran, 2020). If the trauma is not treated immediately it develops, the people mourning may remain in a state of prolonged grief and mourning, which may take longer to heal, with some instances being reported to make even a lifetime to get over.

There have been studies to look into the effects of sudden death across different life stages and how they affect the possibility of grieving people recovering from the grief that they experience. For example, when one is much younger, the sudden loss of a loved one is easier to adapt to than when one loses a loved one when they are more advanced in age.

This can be explained by the possibility of the more mature person who experiences loss has become more attached to the departed individual, and have built their lives around them, leaving them in a state of confusion and loss, with the grieving parties requiring professional counseling, as well as love and attention from the people that are left behind (Djelantik et al., 2020). There are also studies on whether sudden death of loved ones in similar situations, that is, unexpected losses of loved ones in different stages of their lives make them emotionally and mentally stronger or whether they are likelier to experience more episodes of trauma as a result of repeated losses of loved ones unexpectedly. However, there is the possibility of the people concerned suffering from emotional numbness from the continuous experiences of losses of loved ones.

Effects of Trauma from the Sudden Loss of Loved Ones

The existence of feelings of loss is likely to lead to trauma and the existence of the post-traumatic disorder. Post-traumatic disorder occurs if one has been through a terrible event and has been directly affected by the loss experienced. News of an unexpected death of a loved one is one of the ways through which someone can experience post-traumatic disorder and shock since the unexpected news catch one off guard, triggering their emotions to experience feelings of shock and disbelief, which may result in the onset of mental and emotional breakdown in the people concerned.

The unexpected death of a loved one is likely to trigger the existence of PTSD, panic attacks, and episodes of depression as a result. These episodes may occur for a shorter period or, if left untreated, may result in the episodes being experienced for the rest of the individual's life in question. Some of the symptoms of a person who has PTSD from the sudden loss of a loved one include the increased rate of irritability, tension, and jumpiness (Barle et al., 2017).

The people become emotionally unstable and unable to remain patient in situations that they would have handled comfortably in the past. It is also through the spiking of emotions that the people concerned are likelier to display physical signs of trauma such as increased heartbeats and palpitations, sweating, and increased levels of hyperventilating (O’Hare et al., 2017). This is due to the body trying to adapt to the emotional changes, which may result in the bodies of the grieving parties being overwhelmed and developed permanent conditions. The people grieving may also experience flashbacks and nightmares due to the loss, especially if the dead loved one died in their presence. This may ultimately lead to the grieving party suffering from the inability to sleep and concentrate on their daily activities.

Trauma from the sudden death of loved ones may also result in the people grieving losing the meaning of life since they may feel that the person who died was their reason for living, and therefore they have been left with no reason to live. The sudden death of a loved one brings disorder to the people who experience the losses, and this may result in the loss of the reason for living, due to the disorder encountered in the people's lives (Benfer et al., 2018).

The trauma is also likely to bring the lives of the people affected by bereavement to a standstill, hence reducing their productivity in the activities that they had been taking part in. When one experiences trauma from the unexpected loss of a loved one, they are likely to undergo extensive periods of grieving. This reduces the productivity of the individuals in whatever capacity they were in.

For example, research has established that the trauma experienced from the sudden loss of loved ones affects the academic performance of students and that the chances of the people who have experienced the losses taking up drugs and alcohol abuse as coping mechanisms is increased, if they do not receive the necessary mental, emotional and physical support. The existence of poor relationships in the grieving party's life may increase the possibility of them suffering from abandonment issues. They will be unlikely to get attached to others in the future with the fear of being abandoned by the other relationships that they form coming in the way.

Crisis Response Strategy for People Who Have Suffered from the Sudden Loss of Loved Ones

Before treatment and intervention for the sudden loss of a loved one, the person staging the intervention should recognize the existence of different ways of dealing with the loss of loved ones. Therefore, the people staging the interventions should ensure that they formulate tailor-made solutions for the problems that they experience.

When this happens, the possibility of the intervention methods employed working will be increased, compared to if the interventions used were a one-size-fits-all type of intervention methods (Neimeyer & Alves, 2016). The recognition for the need for people to be given time to grieve for their loved one shall also be made so that the people concerned will not make a misjudgment on the existence of PTSD from the sudden loss of a loved one, yet it is normal grieving that is taking place.

However, there are intervention procedures for responding to the sudden loss of loved ones, especially when trauma has been experienced. First, a qualified psychiatrist's use of counseling will help remove the grieving individual from the condition of grieving to a position where they can process the pain without experiencing any form of emotional or mental turmoil (Neimeyer & Alves, 2016).