AIDS-related illnesses can leave a person mentally and physically impaired, and survivors of these losses often experience intense guilt and prolonged sad memories of the deceased. Sometimes AIDS sufferers develop behaviours similar to Alzheimer sufferers, and this can lead to an early grief response in friends and family. AIDS-related deaths often evoke rage, fear, shame, isolation, and lack of support. It can cause conflict in families, and encourages secrecy. In a sense, some survivors may be denied the social right to mourn and to seek consolation from others.
This is one of the factors, which indicate that we all grieve differently. I would like to explore this some more in my next posting. My purpose is to help mourners and sympathisers understand the complexity of grief.
Tags: bereavement, grief