Accessible text version

2023 Summit Losing a Loved One to Drug Overdose Special Consideration for First Responders

This page is the plain-text version of a 20-page PDF, provided for screen readers and easier reading. Open the original PDF.

---

Losing a Loved One to an Overdose: Special Considerations for First Responders 1 Zimani Betts, OFR & SFR Health Coordinator, Hamilton County Public Health she/her/hers Marjorie Rentz, LISW-S, Supervisor Grief Services, Hospice of Cincinnati she/her/hers Defining Grief

• Acute Grief – Early period of loss, intense feelings, yearning, painful emotions (anxiety, anger, remorse, guilt). Very focused on grief.
• Adapting to Loss – Accepting reality and restoring the capability for wellbeing.
• Integrated Grief – Lasting form of grief. Described as “bittersweet” the grief doesn’t dominate life, “resides in the background” but activated at times (holidays, birthdays, etc).
• Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) – Persistent, pervasive and interferes with functioning.
• The Columbia Center for Complicated Grief 2 Mediators of Mourning “Mourning behavior is multidetermined”
• Kinship – Who died
• Nature of the attachment
• How the person died
• Historical Antecedents
• Personality Variables
• Social Variables
• Concurrent Losses and Stresses Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy – Fifth Edition J. William Worden 3 “The many colors of grief…” 4

EMOTIONAL

REACTIONS

BEHAVIORS PHYSICAL

SENSATIONS

COGNITIVE

Secondary Losses 10 Anticipatory Grief

• The distress a person may feel in the days, months or even years before the death of a loved one or other impending loss or life change. Social Workers, Rise! 6

Cycles of Anticipatory Grief

• Accepting that death inevitable
• Feeling concern for the dying person
• Rehearsing the death
• Imagining the future
• Forbes Health Disenfranchised Grief Grief that people experience when they incur a loss that is not or can not be openly acknowledged, publicly mourned or socially supported.
• Kenneth J. Doka 7 Components of Disenfranchised Grief 8 Relationship not recognized Loss not recognized Griever not recognized Stigma attached to the death Grieving process does not fit the norms of society Why it Matters
• Social support mitigates grief reactions and supports the mourner
• Humans benefit from having friends, families and communities bear witness to their suffering and loss
• Telling the story helps to process emotions and integrate grief
• Combatting and overcoming stigma that comes with a substance-involved loss 9 Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD)

DSM-5TR and ICD 11 Prolonged grief disorder happens when someone loses someone close, and they experience an intense yearning/longing for or preoccupation with the deceased person. Their bereavement lasts longer than social norms and causes distress or problems functioning.

American Psychiatric Association 10 Risk Factors for Prolonged Grief Disorder 11 More often in females and with older age An unexpected or violent death, such as death from a car accident, or the murder or suicide of a loved one Death of a child Close or dependent relationship to the deceased person Social isolation or loss of a support system or friendships History of depression, separation anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Traumatic childhood experiences, such as abuse or neglect Other major life stressors, such as major financial hardships From: Mayo Clinic Range of Emotions following death from overdose 13 Shock that it happened coupled with “I knew it was coming”

Blame (self, victim, failure of multiple systems)

Shame Guilt Fear and Anxiety (“Inability to relinquish the vigilance of dread”)

Anger Isolation Unknowns surrounding death Relief Styles of Grieving 14 Intuitive Grief Instrumental Grief

• Experienced as waves of emotion
• Expression mirrors inner feelings and emotions
• More feeling than thinking
• Focused on exploring and expressing feeling and processing emotions
• Low physical energy
• Experienced in more physical and cognitive ways
• Expression is more physical, cognitive, or behavioral
• More thinking than feeling
• Focused on doing and more actively responding to grief
• High physical energy, anxiety Styles of Grieving Continued Blended Grievers
• Share experiences, expressions and adaptation strategies of both intuitive and instrumental grievers
• Will often have varied experiences and use strategies depending on the relationship to the deceased, the situation experiences and time since the loss Dissonant Grievers
• Grievers that encounter a conflict between the way they experience their grief internally and the way they express it externally
• May be due to family, cultural or social traditions causing internal conflict 15 Kenneth J. Doka Coping Strategies and Techniques 16 Intuitive Instrumental
• Take time to grieve, adjust slowly
• Share feelings
• Active listening
• Exploration/expression of feelings
• Catharsis and insight
• Connection and sharing with others
• Readjust/ restore normal routines
• Solve problems related to loss
• Practical information
• Exploration of changes/impact
• Activities and projects
• Memorializing the person who passed Advice for an overdose loss
• Acknowledge the reality of the circumstances of the death.
• Don’t define your loved one by his/her addiction.
• Find healthy ways of acknowledging, validating and expressing your feelings.
• Learn about addiction. Understanding the struggle your loved one had may decrease feelings of guilt rather than having them spiral into unhealthy and untruthful proportions.
• Research what specific resources are available in the area for an overdose or addiction loss.
• Seek professional help from a therapist or your doctor for reactions that persist and may interfere with functioning. 17 Prepared by Pathways Center for Grief & Loss Resources after an Overdose Loss
• Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing (GRASP)
• Compassionate Friends
• Companions on a Journey Grief Support
• Learn to Cope
• Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (PAL)
• Goldstein Family Grief Center
• Fernside Center for Grieving Children
• Hospice of Cincinnati
• Crossroads Hospice 18 ://ovc.ojp.gov/program/vtt/what-is-vicarious-trauma FROM: https://ovc.ojp.gov/program/vtt/what-is-vicarious-trauma 19 Caring for Yourself Caring for yourself – Mitigating the Impact of Vicarious Trauma
• Acknowledge impact of work on wellbeing Avoid numbing emotions
• Take care of your body Sleep, exercise, hydration (we hold trauma in our bodies)
• Reach out to coworkers / leaders for support It helps to talk to someone who gets it
• Incorporate rituals of remembrance/honor those who have died 20

Download the original PDF · Ohio Deflection Association home