Grief and Gratitude

Individuals experience diverse life events throughout life. It is known that events attributed both as good and bad yield stress. However since individuals manifest a tendency to self-actualize, in the face of stress they have a room for psychological growth as well. It was suggested that individuals who had gone through adverse life events are able to find a way to transition which alters “a stumbling block” to “a building block”. In the transition, it was suggested that feeling of gratitude and schema operations are essential since they operates in cognitive processing. However cultural differences especially for gratitude have been reported. Therefore, four studies relied on qualitative and quantitative methodology were conducted to understand gratitude, namely, minnet, şükran, and şükür and its relationship with posttraumatic growth by focusing on early maladaptive schemata and schema coping styles, locus of control and responsibility while controlling the effect of gender, age, positive and negative affect, social desirability and religiosity. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated. Series of two-stepped hierarchical analyses were run. Emotional deprivation, insufficient control / self-disipline and counter dependency, behavioral dimension of responsibility and belief in fate were the unique predictors of gratitude. Gratitude did not predict posttraumatic growth.

International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology

This study explored the experience of gratitude in everyday life following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) by applying thematic analysis to personal experience narratives. Fifteen participants including two negative cases with SCI shared individual experiences of gratitude according to five themes: (a) everyday life, (b) family support, (c) new opportunities, (d) positive sense of self, and (e) gratitude to God. The findings demonstrated that participants benefited from their efforts to appraise challenging life experiences as positive. Therapists could apply intentional and guided gratitude interventions so that individuals would practice and embrace gratitude in adjusting, coping, and adapting positively to various life changes following trauma.

Disability affects the daily living of an individual including relationship, school and work. Psychological health of a person with disability can affect their perception or experience of disability. The question in this study is if PWD's still experience generalized gratitude despite of their status in life as PWD. The study investigated the Mediating role of Posttraumatic growth in predicting generalized gratitude of resilient PWDS. In the context of the present study, resilience is experienced after a negative incident in the individual's life. This becomes a spring board for the understanding the process of experiencing gratitude through resilience. The researchers have two hypotheses in the study; first is resilience predicts generalized gratitude and the second is posttraumatic growth mediates the relationship of resilience and generalized gratitude. Mediation analysis was used in understanding the relationship of resilience and gratitude. Seventy-eight people who have acquired disability participated in the study. Twenty-three (23) participants were gathered from Bahay Biyaya and 45 participants were from Tahanang Walang Hagdanan Inc., 1 from Sinag Tala and 9 respondents were not associated with any foundation. The respondents were asked to complete the questionnaire that contains the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), followed by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), and then finally the GQ-6 Short Form (GQ-6). Results show that resilience does predict gratitude and PTG does mediate the relationship of the two. Thus, supporting the hypotheses, the present study shows that resilience does affect the PWDs feeling grateful despite their negative experiences. Resilience is not the only thing that keeps them feel grateful but also growth and finding meaning to their experiences following disability. This proves theoretically that the Dynamic Model of Adjustment of Individuals Living with Chronic Disease or Disability how Filipino PWD's shows gratitude after traumatic experience.

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2013

Psikohumaniora, 2023

2019

This literature review will serve as the foundation for a book proposal detailing my own life story. Every life is a beautiful tapestry woven together of colorful threads, each representing a unique component of an individual’s experience. Trauma and adversity of some sort are undoubtedly part of every tapestry, and mine is no different. Using my personal experience with breast cancer, I examine the concept of post-traumatic growth, recognizing that stress and growth often co-exist and do not negate each other. Cancer is widely recognized as a trauma and is unique because of the threat of recurrence, meaning that the trauma never fully resolves. Post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with cancer, with many survivors experiencing anxiety and depression. The possibility for growth through the experience also exists, with one outcome being an enhanced appreciation for life. I suggest that although adversity cannot be prevented or controlled, we can choose our response. I present ...

Recovery: the interface between psychiatry and spiritual care, 2023

This chapter focuses on the mental vulnerability of traumatic grief and recovery with this vulnerability, which implies a reduction in the number or intensity of symptoms or distress. Grief is characterized by an ambiguous presence-in-absence of the deceased, involving existential concerns such as isolation and meaninglessness. Existential isolation and loneliness can be simultaneously relieved and enhanced by an "as-if presence" of the deceased. Grief affects the identity of the bereaved and may involve the feeling of having lost a part of oneself with the loved one, due to the disruption of the shared physical existence. The loss of a shared world with shared habits and customs creates an unwanted freedom that complicates reintegrating into one's relationships and activities. The feeling that life is meaningless is enhanced as grief separates time into two strands: an alienated present and an ongoing past-with-the-loved one. Reintegration and acceptance of the reality of the loss involves incorporation or identification and representation of the loved one. "Traumatic grief " denotes mental health problems following the loss of a loved one. Spiritual interventions for traumatic grief consist of providing information about grief, involving significant others, listening to the story of the loss and the lost person, providing space for emotions, finding meaning, and symbolic interaction.

Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 2013

International journal of applied positive psychology, 2023