| acute grief | The intense expression of the reaction to significant loss.
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| anticipatory grief | A reaction to awareness of an impending loss; also known as forewarning.
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| attachment theory | The belief that psychological maturing is dependent on a succession of attachments. When a person recognizes that an object (someone loved) to which he or she is attached no longer exists, grief arises, along with a defensive psychological demand to withdraw libido (energy) from the object.
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| bereavement | The objective event of loss.
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| bereavement burnout | A state associated with the experience of multiple losses in which a bereaved individual is overwhelmed by loss such that he or she becomes emotionally numb and disoriented, obstructing or impairing the normal expression of grief.
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| broken heart phenomenon | The idea that severe or unresolved mental stress related to grief can disrupt the normal rhythm of the heart and cause irregularities and even cardiac arrest.
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| complicated mourning | A manifestation of grief that affects the bereaved's ability to adapt to life without the deceased.
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| deathbed promises | A form of unfinished business in which a dying person elicits some promise from his or her survivors to perform some action after the person dies.
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| directive mourning therapy | Rituals or other actions designed to help bereaved persons take symbolic leave of the deceased or move from a maladaptive to an adaptive style of grieving.
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| disenfranchised grief | Grief experienced in connection with a loss that is not socially supported or acknowledged.
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| dual-process model of grief | A framework for understanding grief as consisting of both loss-oriented and restoration-oriented coping behaviors, which are expressed by the bereaved in varying degrees at different times.
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| grief | The reaction to loss, encompassing thoughts and feelings, as well as physical, behavioral, and spiritual responses.
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| grief work | Based on attachment theory, the idea that bereaved individuals must actively confront a loss and work to detach previously invested (ego) energy from the deceased (object) so it can be reinvested in new relationships.
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| inner representation | A set of memories and other mental or emotional images that allow a bereaved person to maintain a sense of continuing interaction with a deceased loved one.
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| intuitive vs. instrumental grieving | The idea that, in coping with loss, people may express grief both emotionally (intuitive grieving) and physically (instrumental grieving).
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| linking objects | Objects that symbolize in some way the relationship between the bereaved and the deceased.
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| little deaths | Ordinary losses that occur in the course of changes and transitions in life.
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| loss | An instance or event of being deprived of something valued.
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| loss-oriented coping | An aspect of the dual-process model of grief that involves behaviors such as yearning for the deceased, looking at old photographs, and crying.
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| maintaining bonds | The activity of sustaining interactions with a deceased loved one through memories and other forms of both inner and environmental representation of the deceased.
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| mourning | The process by which a bereaved person integrates a loss into his or her ongoing life, as influenced by social and cultural norms for expressing grief.
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| pathological grief | A manifestation of grief that is unhealthy, excessive, or markedly abnormal.
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| perceived similarity | (1) The idea that the more similar to the deceased a survivor believes he or she is, the greater the grief reaction is likely to be. (2) In social support, the idea that people who have experienced similar losses can be more empathetic and understanding in sharing their experiences.
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| restoration-oriented coping | An aspect of the dual-process model of grief that involves behaviors such as mastering tasks that had been taken care of by the deceased, dealing with reorganizing one's life, and developing a new sense of identity.
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| secondary morbidity | Physical, mental, emotional, social, or other difficulties that may be experienced by individuals closely involved in long-term care of a terminally ill person.
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| separation distress | A form of anxiety experienced by an infant or a young child caused by separation from a significant person or familiar surroundings; more generally, yearning, longing, or searching behaviors associated with loss or bereavement.
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| survivor guilt | Feelings of blame or guilt experienced by bereaved persons who question whether they are somehow responsible for a death or question why they survived a particular disaster while others did not survive.
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| tasks of mourning | According to J. William Worden's model, the four tasks of mourning include: (1) accepting the reality of the loss, (2) working through the pain of grief, (3) adjusting to a changed environment and (4) emotionally relocating the deceased and moving on with life.
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| traumatic grief | A form of pathological grief that involves symptoms of separation distress, such as intrusive preoccupation with the deceased, and traumatic distress, a cluster of symptoms that includes feelings of purposeless and futility about the future and a fragmented sense of trust and security.
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| trigger events | New losses, significant anniversaries, and other reminders that reactivate grief for an earlier loss.
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| unfinished business | Aspects of a relationship with the deceased that cause a bereaved person to experience a sense of incompleteness due to unresolved conflicts, ambivalence, or other issues in the relationship, or because future plans made together can no longer be fulfilled. See also deathbed promises.
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