# Grieving Mental Illness



## Daniel (Dec 25, 2011)

_Grieving Mental Illness: A Guide for Patients and Their Caregivers_
by Virginia Lafond, a social worker in Ottawa
2nd Edition (Revised in 2002)
Find in a library
Used copies of the first edition, published in 1994, cost only a few dollars._
_


An excerpt from the book: 
The Mental Illness Education Project, Inc. 

From some of the book reviews:



> The chief value of this book lies in its theme. Grief is an undeveloped  concept in our current approach to psychological illness. Because mental  illness is both stigmatized and frightening, society ? including  patients, caregivers and professionals ? often fail to validate the  sense of loss that accompanies diagnosis. Lafond not only legitimizes  grief, but also gives useful suggestions on how to identify and deal  with the grieving process that she believes inevitably accompanies  mental illness.
> 
> Book Reviews: Grieving mental illness: a guide for patients and their caregivers, 2nd ed.





> Lafond's book is one more step in the process of normalizing mental illness. As she points out in the early chapters, we have no difficulty in talking about grief in relation to physical illness, so why not in relation to mental illness? Grief as a process of adjustment has become part of mainstream thinking, so it seems odd that the idea of using grief as a model for understanding mental illness needs to be argued for. Yet it does. We may be enlightened in the need for least restrictive care; we may regard 'mental illness' as a properly neutral term with which to understand human distress; we may regard mental illness, at least in our finer moments, as common in our communities, and not something to fear. But Lafond argues that we have not sufficiently considered mental illness as a process of loss, and one requiring the same attention to the grief involved as other losses.
> 
> There are many positive messages. A recurring refrain is 'name and claim'; a phrase that suggests that the person with illness needs to place themselves at the center of the experience, and in so doing can exert more influence in determining the course of their lives. In discussing denial, Lafond argues for its importance, citing the protective role of denial in dealing with overwhelming loss. In Chapter seven Lafond deals with the problematic concepts of insight and acceptance...
> 
> Review - Grieving Mental Illness - Depression, Generalized Anxiety, Panic & Bipolar Disorder





> It raises some interesting points about the need to grieve in order to  get well again, whether it be a major illness or the death of somebody  close.
> 
> She claims there are 4 stages to grieving and if we must master each  stage or we will have more difficulty getting better. Her 4 stages are.
> 
> ...





> This is a self-help book for anyone who has endured the effects of  mental illness, whether as a sufferer, friend, family member, or caregiver. It offers detailed, jargon-free guidelines to help readers come  to terms with mental illness in a positive way, while avoiding disabling emotional responses to illness. Sophisticated in approach and  comprehensive in its treatment, this book will be useful both to  healthcare workers and to the general public.
> 
> Virginia Lafond?s experience as a mental health practitioner has  taught her that grieving is always a partner to mental illness. There  are very real losses associated with any illness and grieving for them,  whether the grief is recognized as such or not, is inevitable.  Unacknowledged grief takes its toll, slowing or even stalling recovery. Using grief as a healthy, normal, adaptive process enhances  recovery, allowing positive choices to be made. The result can help  sufferers come to terms with their illness and prepare them for success in rehabilitation programs.
> 
> ...


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