Major Project: Research on Grief & Loss

In this post, I will detail a research I made on the theme of my project, which is grief and loss. This is to prepare myself before finishing the project, a script based on the theme of grief and loss. I will also use this research as a reference to revise my story and characters from the sketch.

Source: Unsplash

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Grief is a normal response to loss during or after a disaster or other traumatic event. Grief can happen in response to loss of life, as well as to drastic changes to daily routines and ways of life that usually bring us comfort and a feeling of stability."

According to CDC, Common grief reactions include: 

• Shock, disbelief, or denial.
• Anxiety
• Distress
• Anger
• Periods of sadness
• Loss of sleep and loss of appetite

There are also five main stages of grief, which is:

• Denial = At first, trying to deny or ignore the truth of the death.
• Anger = Anger towards the person who had died, ourselves, or others,
• Bargaining = Believing that if we act in particular ways we will feel better. Wishing of a different outcome, especially our past actions.
• Depression = Sadness and longing. Pain that lasted long until acceptance.
• Acceptance = While not completely over the death, one can learn to continue living on while holding the memories of the dead.

Some actions that can help people to cope:

• Staying connected with family and friends
• To share with those who have experienced grief
• Spiritual support, mental health services, hotlines, etc.
• Create memories and activities to remember or honor the dead
• Visiting the dead, alone or with family and friends
• To keep maintaining hobbies and interests
• Expressing grief through art, writing, music, etc.

From this research, I have learned about the conditions and feelings that a person might experience during moments of grief. I also learned about how people face grief and cope with it. Most particularly, I learned that while in general people might still feel grief and not completely over it, they must come to terms with the reality and accept it by moving on and continuing with their lives, while still remembering the loss. That said, this gave me inspiration and ideas as to how I should approach my characters, especially since they're dealing with grief. 

Aspects of depression, sadness, and longing should appear during the first and second acts in which the characters experienced loss of sleep, anger and distress when alone, and a stressed tone during work or at home. I imagined that aspects of anger and bargaining can be shown during the intense argument in the third act of my script. Lastly, I want the ending to emphasise that while the family is still in pain, they are trying to move forward through simple terms, accepting that his death can't continue to halt them from life. I want the main character, who is experiencing grief, to also show moments of trying to cope by connecting with her family, asking help in hotlines, visiting the dead, and trying out to continue doing her hobby and profession, which is fine arts and paintings.

References:

Grief and loss (2022) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/stress-coping/grief-loss/index.html#:~:text=Grief%20is%20a%20normal%20response,Shock%2C%20disbelief%2C%20or%20denial (Accessed: November 13, 2022).

Coping with grief and loss (no date) HelpGuide.org. Available at: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-grief-and-loss.htm (Accessed: November 13, 2022). 

Understanding the five stages of grief (2021) Cruse Bereavement Support. Available at: https://www.cruse.org.uk/understanding-grief/effects-of-grief/five-stages-of-grief/ (Accessed: November 13, 2022).