The 4 Tasks Of The Grief Of William Worden

William Worden’s Grief Tasks set a renewal about grieving processes. Grief has been conceived as a process divided into stages through which the person involved in some kind of loss had to go through. The conception of mourning in stages gives the mourners a passive role, this positioning having important consequences for the development of complicated duels.

Often times, a process of loss is associated with a period of grief. The fact of referring to grief as a process in stages instead of tasks reduces the involvement of the person, who somehow understands that the results of the process are, to a large extent, the result of the passage of time itself.

Faced with this idea, William Worden, one of the most recognized specialists in the processes of grief and loss, elaborates a series of stages that individuals go through as active agents in their own process. This leads to the development of healthy griefs and the prevention of the chronification of the grieving process.

What is loss?

Even the most positive transitions in life are not free from losses : from the job promotion that implies the loss of the previous job, to being a parent, when a life with fewer responsibilities must be left behind.

In general, human losses in today’s society can be classified as follows:

• Losses itself due to the death of a loved one
•  Decreased functionality. Translated as losses related to physical and / or mental health
• Losses related to the job position and therefore, losses related to one of the roles that were exercised in daily life

• Damages caused by wars and / or natural disasters
• Theft of treasured items
• Couple separations, divorces
• Etc.

What is grief?

Grief is an inherent process that involves transitioning to a new stage without the object of loss (in this case, it will refer to the loss of a loved one). Grief generates a series of biological, emotional and behavioral reactions that facilitate adaptation to the environment and the development of new roles in life without the deceased person.

Several authors have focused on the study of grief and its organization by stages or phases. In this case, William Worden develops a series of tasks for people who have to go through this trance. This active role of the person is not contrary to the idea that grieving is a time-consuming process.

William Worden’s 4 Grief Tasks

William Worden’s grief tasks range from accepting the reality of loss to adjusting to an environment without what we have lost. Since grief is a process and not a state, grief tasks involve cognitive processing that prepares the coping with certain circumstances and accepting the experience of loss: adaptation to a different and less desired world than the previous one.

Tasks of grief: accepting the reality of loss

When someone dies, even from natural causes, there is a feeling of unreality. The first task of the duel would be to face the death of that person and that their reunion is impossible, at least in this life.

The latter refers to the fact that, after the loss, it is common for the deceased to be confused with other people on the street or even save a place to eat at a family event. Similarly, some people find it difficult to perform the first task due to thoughts about the reversibility of death.

Tasks of Grief: Working through Grief After Loss

The physical, emotional, and behavioral pain in the grieving process is real. If this pain is not recognized, it will manifest itself in other ways, resulting in abnormal behavior and physical and psychological problems. Not everyone experiences pain with the same intensity, but it is possible to lose someone with whom you have been very close and not feel pain.

A person is not usually prepared for the whirlwind of emotions that will shake him in this process, no matter how long-awaited the loss.

However, maintaining the denial of the loss, in the long term, prevents the exit from the duel. People who consciously avoid pain don’t let it go either. Psychological counseling is vitally important in cases where this task gets stuck.

Tasks of grief: adjusting to the environment without the loved one

Adjusting to the environment without the loved one involves both external and internal tasks. That is, adaptations on how the death of the person influences the image that the person has of himself, his values, beliefs, etc., and external adaptations related to the tasks of daily life in the deceased person.

With regard to internal adaptations, mourners must adapt their own personal identity in the grieving process. It does not only mean that they see themselves as widowers, as parents who have lost a child, etc. Rather, it refers to how your spiritual beliefs and value system influence your loss.

Personal competence after the loss is also important. For example, responsibilities previously assumed by the person who has left must now be assumed by the person in the grieving process.

Tasks of grief: find a connection with the deceased and continue living

It is the last of the mourning tasks proposed by William Worden. This describes the need to find a lasting bond with the loved one who has passed away, so that at the same time other repertoires of behavior can be established adapted to the environment without that person. There may be several ties to the loved one. Among them, the following stand out:

• Some item of clothing of the loved one that makes it special.
• A photography.
• A family album with photos.
• A short video.
• Etc.

It is one of the most difficult tasks, since the consequences of not performing this task would translate into staying anchored when this person lived, losing the demands that the context is making in the present moment. When the person becomes so attached to the relationship he had with the loved one that he does not allow him to establish other relationships at the present moment, it could be said that psychological intervention is necessary.

Grief is essentially a demand for adaptation, so finding certain difficulties in connecting with the environment is normal. The problem is when these processes become chronic and do not allow the individual to develop personally, leading to certain psychological problems.