Bereavement phenomenology questionnaire

Most people experience the loss of a loved one. How they respond to this loss will have an impact on their quality of life. In 1944, Lindemann undertook the first systematic study of bereavement and noted that uncomplicated bereavement could include somatic distress, preoccupation with the image of the deceased, guilt, hostility, loss of usual patterns of conduct, and imitation of the deceased behaviors in some people. However, these descriptions were based on the clinical findings of people who suffered traumatic circumstances of bereavement, and they may not have been an accurate representation of the normal populous. Raphael (1983) noted the distinction between bereavement and grief as follows: bereavement is the reaction to the loss of a close relationship and grief is the emotional response (sadness, anger, helplessness, guilt, and despair) to that loss and is therefore part of the bereavement process.