When a loved one dies suddenly, the people left behind often experience traumatic grief. Although this type of grief is generally new, studies have shown that it manifests symptoms that are almost similar to those of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, traumatic grief is focused explicitly on the person who has passed.
Research has also shown that cases of traumatic grief are on the rise across the world, with millions of people getting stuck indefinitely in grieving. Many factors have contributed to the rising cases of traumatic grief in the world. Continue reading to understand why traumatic grief has become relevant today.
Why Traumatic Grief is on the Rise
Natural Disasters
Losing someone to a natural calamity like flooding, storm, wildfire, or volcanic activity is incredibly traumatic and stressful, given that the death happens suddenly and unexpectedly. These calamities affect the bereaved persons in many ways other than the loss of the loved one. For instance, since natural disasters occur as mass traumatic events, they put the lives of everyone, including the bereaved, in danger and bring about many kinds of losses all at once.
Natural calamities have become very common of late, with tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions making headlines almost every day. Sadly, these events leave hundreds of people dead and thousands of others completely devastated. This has contributed immensely to the rise in cases of traumatic grief.
Epidemics
The world is still being ravaged by the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed millions of lives and left behind many suffering people across the globe. Although the extent of the effects of this pandemic is still indefinite, a significant number of bereaved people are currently suffering from traumatic grief. Apart from Covid-19, many other epidemics continue to claim lives and leave behind a devastated society. They include Ebola, HIV/AIDS, swine flu, and SARS-CoV.
Diseases Necessitating ICU Treatment
Studies have shown that relatives of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are likely to develop psychological indisposition during and after hospital admission. The ICU environment is quite a disturbing experience for both the patient and their relatives. People are constantly rolled in, often without communication, hooked up to large machines, ventilated, or intubated.
In the Covid-19 pandemic, most deaths are happening in the ICU after someone develops an acute respiratory distress syndrome. In most cases, patients enter the ER, are admitted to the ICU, and don’t return. This leaves their loved ones devastated and suffering from traumatic grief.
