Analysis Of J. William Worden's Four Tasks Of Mourninging

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Nurses are both blessed and cursed to be with patients from the very first moments of life until their final breath. With those last breaths, each patient leaves someone behind. How do nurses handle the loss and grief that comes along with patients dying? How do they help the families and loved ones of deceased patients? Each person, no matter their background, must grieve the death of a loved one, but there is no right way to grieve and no two people will have the same reaction to death. It is the duty of nurses to respect the wishes and grieving process of each and every culture; of each and every individual (Verosky, 2006). This paper will address J. William Worden’s four tasks of mourning as well as the nursing implications involved – both when taking care of patients’ families and when coping with the loss of patients themselves. The Four Tasks of Mourning According to Leming and Dickinson (2016), in 1982, J. William Worden proposed the idea of a task-based mourning system, rather than a linear one. It is common for those experiencing grief to deny the death altogether. Many people do this by avoiding situations and places that remind them of the deceased (Leming & Dickinson, 2016). However, by simply avoiding the topic of death and pain, the mourner only achieves temporary relief while in turn creating more permanent lasting agony (Rich, 2005). In this stage, mourners will begin to feel the full weight of the circumstance. Whether the death of a loved one was sudden or long-term, survivors will feel a full range of emotions, such as sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, hopelessness, or grief. While many of these emotions can cause serious suffering, it is important for the survivor to feel whatever emotions come up and deal with those feelings, rather than trying to suppress any

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