scholarly journals Mourning My Mother: An Exploration of the Complex Emotions Elicited by the Terminal Illness of an Estranged Parent

2019 ◽  
pp. 107-119
Author(s):  
Anne Bettina Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Child Neglect ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Terminal Cancer ◽  
Complex Emotions ◽  
Prescriptive Model ◽  
Autobiographical Accounts ◽  
Loss Of A Parent ◽  
Opening Up

In 2017, I learned that my estranged mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. This article explores the conflicting emotional responses I have had following the decision not to reconnect with my mother, not to provide care for her during her illness, and not to attend her funeral (when the time comes). This study combines my own creative explorations of child neglect, through  autophenomenography, with examinations of autobiographical accounts of mother-daughter relationships and literature on family estrangement and the loss of a parent. I suggest that I already ‘read’ myself as a motherless daughter, and that caring, (re)mourning, and (re)grieving for my mother would entail reentering a dysfunctional dyad and opening up past wounds. There appear to be few resources to draw on regarding how to navigate this particular emotional terrain. This article does not intend to provide a prescriptive model for this type of loss, but rather aims at opening up for queer modes of grieving and mourning and suggests that, in some cases, the denial of care for an estranged parent translates into self-care and self-preservation. 

The Impact of Terminal Illness on the Spouse

1987 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Howell
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Impending Death ◽  
The Impact

This descriptive study explores the responses, concerns and problems of the hospitalized, terminally ill, cancer patient's spouse. The findings of the study suggest that spouses experience a deterioration in their health, disturbed thought processes, and a variety of emotional responses when confronted with the impending death of a husband / wife from cancer. Spouses are concerned about the physical symptoms, such as pain, experienced by the patient and their inability to communicate with him or her. The spouses’ problems centre on changes or anticipated changes in their lifestyle. An important finding of the study was the identification of a group of spouses who appear to be at risk. These spouses reported a high incidence of physical symptoms in relation to their own health, a high incidence of emotional responses, and numerous concerns.

Experiences and Attitudes of Patients With Terminal Cancer and Their Family Caregivers Toward the Disclosure of Terminal Illness

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1950-1957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Ho Yun ◽  
Yong Chol Kwon ◽  
Myung Kyung Lee ◽  
Woo Jin Lee ◽  
Kyung Hae Jung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Terminal Cancer ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Caregiver Group ◽  
Terminal Diagnosis

Purpose We investigated the experiences of cancer patients and their family caregivers who became aware that the cancer was terminal, how they became aware, and how they felt about disclosure of the information. Patients and Methods In this cohort study, we administered questionnaires to 619 consecutive patients determined by physicians to be terminally ill and to their family caregivers. Results A total of 481 patients and 381 family caregivers completed the questionnaire. A majority of patients (58.0%) and caregivers (83.4%) were aware of the patient's terminal status. Approximately 28% of patients and 23% of caregivers reported that they guessed it from the patient's worsening condition. The patient group was more likely than the caregiver group (78.6% v 69.6%) to prefer that patients be informed of their terminal status. Patients informed of their terminal diagnosis had a significantly better quality of life and fewer symptoms and had a lower rate of emotional distress than patients who guessed it from their worsening condition. Younger patients and patients who paid the treatment costs themselves were significantly more likely to want to be told when their illness was terminal. If the patient paid the treatment cost and was employed at the time of the cancer diagnosis, the family caregivers were more likely to prefer disclosure of terminal illness. Conclusion Most patients with terminal cancer and their family caregivers preferred disclosure, and patients who knew of their terminal diagnosis had a lower rate of emotional distress and a higher health-related quality of life.

Terminal Cancer and Suicide: The Health Care Professional's Dilemma

1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie C. Hansen ◽  
Charles A. MC Aleer
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Death Anxiety ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Anxiety Scale ◽  
Terminal Cancer ◽  
Terminal Cancer Patients ◽  
And Behavior

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that health care professionals would differ in their evaluations of a patient contemplating suicide, in their acceptance of suicide for the patient, and in their projected behavioral response to the patient, as a function of their belief that the patient has cancer, a terminal illness, or terminal cancer, and as a function of the degree of their death anxiety. Health care professionals ( N = 138) across a variety of disciplines completed Templer's Death Anxiety Scale, read one of four randomly distributed written introductions, then viewed taped segments of counseling sessions with a woman who was contemplating suicide. Results demonstrated that health care professionals' evaluations, acceptance, and behavior in the case of a patient contemplating suicide are affected by their belief that the patient has cancer and/or is dying, and by the degree of death anxiety experienced by the practitioner. The importance of awareness regarding personal feelings about suicide among terminal cancer patients is discussed.

The Influence of Previous Personality on Reactions to Having Terminal Cancer

1975 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hinton
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Emotional Disturbance ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Emotional State ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Terminal Cancer ◽  
Terminally Ill Cancer Patients ◽  
Senior Nurse ◽  
State Of Mind

This study of 60 married, terminally-ill cancer patients, 22 males and 38 females inquired into associations between the descriptions of each patient's personality and state of mind before and during his/her last illness. Previous information concerning character, marriage, and religious traits was obtained through interviews with the patient's spouse. Information about the patient's feelings and reactions during the illness came from interviews with the patient, spouse, and senior nurse. The results deviate from some pre-conceived beliefs. For instance, less stable people did not show appreciably more emotional disturbance during their terminal illness. While the techniques of group investigations have limitations in their application to any particular individual, they do uncover information which is valuable in understanding the emotional state of the terminally ill.

An interpretative phenomenological analysis exploring the lived experience of individuals dying from terminal cancer in Ireland

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 641-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara McTiernan ◽  
Michael O'Connell
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Social Withdrawal ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Terminal Cancer ◽  
Unfinished Business ◽  
The Public ◽  
Personal Impact

AbstractObjective:The experience of living with dying has attracted limited research. We utilized interpretive phenomenological analysis to explore the lived experience of individuals with terminal cancer receiving palliative care in Ireland.Method:Participants were purposely selected from public interviews that had been conducted between 2006 and 2011. The study included the accounts of eight participants (N = 8; six females and two males) with a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Participant ages ranged from 36 to 68 years.Results:Three master themes emerged from the analysis: the personal impact of diagnosis, the struggle in adjusting to change, and dying in context. The results revealed that participants were still living while simultaneously dying. Interestingly, participants did not ascribe new meaning to their lives. The terminal illness was understood within the framework of the life that had existed before diagnosis. They strove to maintain their normal routines and continued to undertake meaningful activities. Management of unfinished business and creation of a legacy were salient tasks. Social withdrawal was not present; rather, participants engaged in emotional labor to sustain valued roles. However, we found that within the public domain there is a paucity of education and discourse supporting individuals at the end of life. The hospice was noted as an important external resource. Each participant experienced a unique dying process that reflected their context.Significance of Results:Healthcare professionals need to recognize the subjectivity of the dying process. Dying individuals require support and options to maintain their personhood.

CAREFUL ATTUNEMENTS: THE CHOREOGRAPHING OF CARE THROUGH SMARTPHONE PRACTICES DURING, AND AFTER, CRISIS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin McGrane ◽  
Larissa Hjorth
Keyword(s):  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Affective Intensity ◽  
Australian Summer ◽  
Feminist Materialism

In this paper we explore how smartphone users in Victoria (Australia) used mobile and non-mobile media to find and manage information, emotions and networks during the 2019-2020 Australian summer bushfire crisis. Through arts-based methods that deployed drawing, critical reflection and group discussion, we sought to use techniques that elicit the emotional responses and motivations of our participants in and after the crisis. We draw on the concept of affective witnessing (Papailias, 2016; Richardson and Schankweiler, 2019) as a process whereby the boundaries between mourner and witness blur through the affective intensity of mobile media. We contextualise affective witnessing in terms of feminist materialism of care practices (Pols, 2012; Puig de la Bellacasa, 2011; Lupton and Hjorth, forthcoming) to focus on the importance of taking seriously care—care at a distance of family and friends, self-care and care of intimate digital publics.

scholarly journals Preliminary study of themes of meaning and psychosocial service use among informal cancer caregivers

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison J. Applebaum ◽  
Carol J. Farran ◽  
Allison M. Marziliano ◽  
Anna R. Pasternak ◽  
William Breitbart
Keyword(s):  
Advanced Cancer ◽  
Caregiver Burden ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Psychosocial Service ◽  
Existential Concerns

AbstractObjective:The burden experienced by informal caregivers (ICs) of patients with advanced cancer is well documented. ICs are at risk for anxiety and depression, as well as existential concerns that arise when a loved one is facing a terminal illness. Few psychosocial interventions focus on existential concerns of ICs. However, a growing body of literature indicates that finding meaning in the experience of being an IC for a person with cancer has the potential to buffer against burden. The purpose of this study was to collect preliminary descriptive data regarding caregiver burden, meaning, and psychosocial service use to inform the adaptation of a meaning-centered intervention for ICs.Method:Twenty-five caregivers and 32 patients completed brief, anonymous questionnaires that asked about their role as a caregiver or their perception of their loved one as a caregiver, caregiver burden, and psychosocial service use.Results:Caregivers and patients identified anxiety and depression as top correlates of burden experienced by caregivers, whereas guilt, issues with role/sense of identity, and self-care were additional areas of concern. The majority of caregivers were not receiving psychosocial services, although they almost unanimously reported desiring services. A greater proportion of patients than caregivers believed that an intervention designed to enhance meaning would ameliorate burden, but, nevertheless, close to three quarters of caregivers reported interest in participating in such an intervention.Significance of results:These study findings provide further support for, at a minimum, engaging ICs of persons with advanced cancer in interventions that address existential issues, mental health, self-care, and service use. Such interventions are likely to improve the quality of life of both patients with cancer and their ICs.

scholarly journals Scared but Powerful: Healthcare Chaplains’ Emotional Responses and Self-Care Modes during the SARS-Cov-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 30-36
Author(s):  
Cate Michelle Desjardins ◽  
Anna Bovo ◽  
Mario Cagna ◽  
Martijn Steegen ◽  
Anne Vandenhoeck
Keyword(s):  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Free Text ◽  
International Survey

Drawing from both the qualitative free-text responses and quantitative responses to an international survey of 1657 chaplains serving during the SARS-Cov-19 pandemic, we explore chaplains' emotional responses to the pandemic and how emotion connects to self-care. This paper reports on the modes of self-care practiced by chaplains, including modes reported as unavailable due to pandemic restrictions. Lastly, we explore how effective spiritual care leadership may mediate chaplain emotions and ultimately chaplain self-care.

scholarly journals Emotional responses, caring, self-care, and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

2021 ◽  
Vol 129 (s1) ◽  
pp. 252-260
Author(s):  
Diana Ortega-Aponte ◽  
Astrid Rozo-Sánchez ◽  
Diego Rivera-Porras ◽  
Mabel García- Echeverri ◽  
Ginna Pérez-Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Work Environment ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Occupational Diseases ◽  
Current Problem ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Stress Disorders ◽  
Job Responsibilities ◽  
Psychological Well Being

Currently, the pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the various measures to stop the contagion has developed multiple crises in society. The work environment has been transformed, occupational diseases have increased, therefore, it was decided to analyze the information published on the current problem and it was found that according to statistics, depressive, panic, and stress disorders have increased, due to social isolation, the change in routine and new ways of exercising job responsibilities, leading to a decrease in people’s psychological well-being. Actualmente la pandemia ocasionada por el COVID-19y las diversas medidas para detener el contagio han desarrollado múltiples crisis en la sociedad.

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