Psy 100 - Grief - a Natural Part of the Healing Process

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Each culture deals with grief differently, however the grieving process may be the same. For instance, the North American, and Chinese cultures grieve in private manners. That’s the same as stage one of grief, isolation. Being away from everyone to reflect, think, and cry about the deceased. The Chinese culture has a tendency to somaticize grief in physiological ways (Seegobin & Reyes, n.d.). The Native Americans gash their arms and legs to show and express their grief. Grief is experienced differently in each culture, but may not follow the chronological order of the five stages of grief. Overall, grief is varied by one’s experience.

In conclusion, grief can be an array of painful feelings or emotions. The length a person process grief is solely up to the individual. He or she must be willing to cope and move along the five stages of grief. Although, it can be painful at times but it shouldn’t be rushed. Cultural background play a significant role in the grieving process. Rituals and ceremonies are performed to allow families to say their last goodbye or help the decease to transition into the afterlife with ease. The impaction of the five stages of grief can either help the griever to fluctuate between spending time with themselves and wanting to be around others.

Reference

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Kubler-Ross, E. (1973). On Death and Dying. Florence, Ky. USA: Routledge. Accessed on November 2, 2015.Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com

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Seegobin, W. & Reyes, R. (n.d.) Grief and Mourning across Cultures: Building strong families conference. Messiah College [online] accessed November 8, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.messiah.edu/departments.family/resources/bsf/pdf/powerpoint%202006/seegobin.pdf

Simmons, S. (1999). Multicultural interview Grief in the Chinese Culture [online] accessed November 8, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.indiana.edu/~famlygrf/culture/simmons.html