A person whose spouse died 2 years earlier tells friends, 'I think I'm ready to start going out socially, maybe even take someone to dinner.' What does this comment best demonstrate about the individual's state of mind?
- A. Is denying the significance of the loss.
- B. Is in a period of grief resolution.
- C. Is actively working through grief.
- D. Is experiencing intrusion.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Toward the end of the grief process, the person renews his or her interest in people and activities. This behavior indicates resolution.
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A grieving patient tells a nurse, 'It's been 8 months since my spouse died. I thought I would feel better by now, but lately I feel worse. I have no energy. I am lonely, but I don't want to be around people. What should I do?' What is the nurse's best counsel?
- A. Seek psychotherapy.
- B. Become active in a church.
- C. Go to the spouse's grave every day.
- D. Understand this is a normal response.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The patient needs understanding and support that the feelings are normal. Loneliness and aimlessness are most pronounced 6 to 9 months after the death.
After the death of a spouse, an adult repeatedly says, 'I should have made him go to the doctor when he said he didn't feel well.' What response is this individual likely experiencing?
- A. Preoccupation with the image of the deceased
- B. Sensations of somatic distress
- C. Anger
- D. Guilt
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Guilt is evident by the bereaved person's self-reproach. Preoccupation refers to dwelling on images of the deceased. Somatic distress would involve bodily symptoms. Anger is not evident from data given in this scenario.
Which finding indicates the successful completion of an individual's grieving process?
- A. For 2 years, a person has kept the deceased spouse's belongings in their usual places.
- B. After 15 months, a widowed person realistically remembers both the pleasures and disappointments of the relationship with the spouse.
- C. 3 years after the death, a person talks about the spouse as if the spouse was still alive and weeps when others mention the spouse's name.
- D. 18 months after the spouse's death, a person says, 'I never cry or have feelings of loss even though we were always very close.'
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The work of grieving is over when the bereaved can remember the individual realistically and acknowledge both the pleasure and disappointments associated with the loved one.
A child drowned while swimming in a local lake 4 years ago. Which behavior indicates that the parents are effectively coping with their loss?
- A. Prohibits their other children from going swimming.
- B. Sets a place for the deceased child at the family dinner table.
- C. Keeps their child's room exactly as the child left it 4 years ago.
- D. Throw flowers on the lake at each anniversary date of the accident.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The parents who throw flowers across the lake on each anniversary date of the accident are effectively using a ritual to express their feelings openly.
A recently widowed patient tells the health care provider, 'I have so much epigastric discomfort. I wonder if I have an ulcer.' Diagnostic tests are negative. What does the symptom likely demonstrate?
- A. Early reorganization behavior
- B. Disorganization and depression
- C. Preoccupation with the deceased
- D. Normal phenomenon of mourning
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Sensations of somatic distress are often experienced during the acute stage of grieving.
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