Andy McNiel, the first executive director of the National Alliance for Grieving Children, a network for bereavement professionals and volunteers, said, "We don't give them honest information," in part because of a sincere desire to protect our children.
Not only because they serve as the foundation for the quiet but imperative network of bereavement centers, but because they believe in something that I also feel strongly about: the absolutely necessity and inalienable right to grief support.
For many older people, retirement, the loss of social networks, bereavements, single living and failing health all play a role.
Bereavement outcomes as causal systems: A network analysis of the co-occurrence of complicated grief and posttraumatic growth.
The network is helping to establish bereavement groups for men in places as diverse as DePere, Wis . Clearwater, Fla.; and Danvers, Mass.
"What we need are solutions that can tackle the reasons people become socially isolated or lonely – things such as decline in physical or mental health, reduced mobility, bereavement, family living at a distance, reduced social networks, perceived lack of social support low participation in social activities," she states.
Many people are more vulnerable to life shocks such as bereavement, unemployment and relationship breakdown, it says, because traditional social networks from the church to the family have declined.
Research shows that bereavement influences health and well-being in old age and involves changes in social networks.
Social networks and supportive relationships are known to buffer the effects of stressful life events such as bereavement, deteriorating health and loss of autonomy (Northern Arizona University 1998) and to mitigate negative feelings and emotions (Rentoul 1997).
And bereavement - why the bereavement?
