Bereavement as a psychological trauma

Abstract

Neimeyer says, "Mourning as a human experience is both a natural event and a cultural construct. On the one hand, the essential characteristics of the loss response reflect our evolution as biological and social beings, a response rooted in the breaking of attachment bonds necessary for our survival; on the other hand, we respond to loss both biologically and symbolically, through the meaning we attribute to the symptoms of separation we experience and through the changes in personal and collective identity that accompany, for example, the death of a family member or the community". Losing a loved one is a universal experience that the vast majority of people have experienced or will experience during their lifetime. Many people will overcome this terrible ordeal on their own, but an important part of them will need help to overcome the psychological consequences of mourning. Whether they get over the loss alone or with the help of others, people will never be the same again.