Grief is the term used for a painful process incurred by a traumatic loss or the anticipation of losing a loved one. Individuals suffering from a terminal illness also experience loss of life and family or friends accompanied by anxiety and depression symptoms. According to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Late Life Depression Evaluation and Treatment Center, depression is best defined by overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, sadness, bouts of crying and anger. The harmful effects of depression when an individual is grieving are not only psychological and social. Medical problems can be exasperated by depression as the immune system crashes and disease runs out of control.
Psychological Problems
Depression is just one of several psychological problems associated with grieving. However, depression serves as the catalyst when it comes to contemplating suicide, experiencing social anxiety, panic attacks, irrational fears about the future and loneliness. The Fisher Center Alzheimer's Research Foundation posits that the extent of the grief can be measured by anticipation and complication. For instance, in anticipatory grief, an individual knows she is about to lose someone close to her. Internally, the individual already experiences loss, which is compounded by the actual event. In complicated mourning, questions left unanswered, a traumatic event surrounding the death or lack of mental preparation for loss can be both depressing and additional trauma.
Social Isolation
Feelings of depression and grief can often make an individual feel alienated from family or friends. In many situations, the deceased held several roles that are no longer filled, living situations and finances may have drastically changed and perhaps family or friends have stopped coming around. The grief then is multiplied by every loss incurred following death, which adds to depression while the depression adds to the debilitating factors in grief. University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine suggests the extreme need for social support groups, therapy or therapy animals and perhaps the addition of an antidepressant as a means to begin working through depression complicated by grief.
Physical Symptoms
The immune system is the first compromised physically by depression and grief. Symptoms of duress include sleep disturbances, eating disorders, inflammation and tumor growth with disease progression. Researchers at the Endocrine Society posit that in addition to creating an atmosphere primed for the development of cancer and tumor growth, that there are numerous studies linking depression and grief to the development of osteoporosis and metabolic syndrome. AIDS.org has shown similar findings with the progression of AIDS, cancers and additional infections.
References
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Late Life Depression Evaluation and Treatment Center; Traumatic Grief Information
- Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation; Alzheimer's Grief and Bereavement
- University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine; "Coping with Grief"
- The Endocrine Society; Cancer and the Immune System
- AIDS.Org; "HIV Overview"
