While theorists, such as Sigmund Freud, have been interested in making the distinction between 'grief' and 'depression', my interest has been in emphasizing the similarity. I focus on addressing your specific reactions rather than labeling them as 'depression' or 'grief'. I address your reactions by applying the 3-A Coping Framework with the objective of empowering you so you can monitor yourself with awareness.
The image of the emotional whirlwind in this article illustrates specific reactions that could be experienced by someone who is grieving loss by death or other losses such as destruction due to war, job/financial loss, family illness. Your emotional reaction is rarely just one emotion and you do not necessarily experience all the reactions. Some of your reactions may not even be listed on the whirlwind. If you are experiencing tough times, go through the emotional whirlwind image to acknowledge and assess what you are experiencing and also not experiencing.
This emotional whirlwind could also illustrate some of the same specific reactions such as sadness, loneliness, frustration that present with an unexplained, unprovoked context. Having difficulty with daily functioning, ultimately end up medically diagnosed with depression. Something to consider though is that the reason a person presenting with an unexplained context may be that the context is buried in the past, unconsciously repressed - situational loss that has occurred years ago. It could also be a result of not being in touch with yourself.
This is why it is so important for you to be in touch, mindfully monitoring yourself, your emotions and behaviors with awareness. The 3-A Coping Framework that I developed provides you with the monitoring tools. The 3-A components of Acknowledge, Assess, Assist operate on the premise that whenever you experience tough times, there is situational loss that brings on specific reactions to be addressed. In my private practice, I see the impact of loss brought on by the tough circumstances that individuals experience. This view is different from the conventional cultural views related to loss and grief.
To share my view, I originally devised the ground-breaking 3-A Grief Approach to address the losses that dementia caregivers experience in my 2007 article 'Introducing the 3-A Grief Intervention Model: Acknowledge, Assess, Assist ' published in the Omega Journal of Death and Dying. It has been further developed over the years evolving into the 3-A Coping Framework for more people to be able to use in a variety of tough situations.
The simplest explanation of the 3-A components is:
Acknowledge the adversity, loss and face reality;
Assess the impact, the specific reactions;
Assist with strategies and methods unique for the individual..
Being able to cope is vital through troubling, adverse circumstances. Medication such as antidepressants as medical treatment may assist. Although helpful, it is not enough. Grief processing is one of the assist methods that can be applied not only for death circumstances but for other circumstances such as job loss, family illness and extreme circumstances such as devastation from war. Other assist strategies may include mindfulness, compassion, and more. You can cope by applying the 3-A components simultaneously. You assist by acknowledging your present adverse circumstances and assessing how you are affected not only emotionally but behaviorally, physically and spiritually.
Get empowered by monitoring yourself with awareness! Acknowledge, Assess, Assist!
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