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7/25/2019 On-its-way

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Grief

Grief is often linked as an emotional response to a death of a friend or a family member.

Apparently, grief has been defined by Sue Morris of the Australian Psychological Society, as not only an

intense emotional and physical reaction a person experiences after a loved ones death but an intense

yearning to be ith that person again. !Morris, "#$%& 'ut since death of a loved one is believed to be the

strongest stressor in ones life !(olmes ) *ahe, $+%&, it has been the common precursor to grief.

Grief has been considered as a natural response to a loss. -n fact, human beings have been

considered to be naturally resilient and can endure loss. 'ut the problem is that not all people can be

resilient and not all people can cope effectively. Some struggle ith grief for longer periods of time and

cannot go back to their normal routine and that is called complicated grief/ and people ho suffer from

this can consult a licensed psychologist or a mental health professional !American Psychological

Association, "#$%&. 0ith that, a psychologist can be of help in terms of building resilience to the person

and helping the person develop strategies to cope ith their sadness. 1ne of the treatments psychologists

do is psychotherapy !American Psychological Association, "#$%&.

According to Stephenson !$+23&, there are three types of losses a person can experience hich

can possibly lead to grief. 1ne of hich is a loss of a significant person, loss of a significant ob4ect and

loss of a part of the self. Again, it does not necessarily mean that you have to loss something permanently

to experience grief but it happens even during temporary losses. Stephenson !$+23& further mentioned in

his book that a separation from a significant person may result to reactions that are closely the same to

those ho actually experience death. 5his only implies that separation may result to grief as ell. 5hat is

hy homesickness can no be defined as a form of grief.


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Homesickness

(omesickness is not a ne phenomenon. As a matter of fact the said term is existent in many

languages. -t is used in describing psychological experiences hich happens after a significant transition.

-t is usually evident in cases here in a person leaves home, hich includes the persons family and

friends, to live in another location. -t is common among the young population ho leave home for the

purpose of education, training and vocation.

At the young age of seven, children in 6nited 7ingdom leave home and become boarders to

attend a primary school. 5hese circumstances are often among those belonging in the upper socio8

economic class. As part of an advantaged educational system in 6.7, children are being sent to schools.

'ut in the moment they violate the la and commit even minor crimes, they are also to be discharged

from their homes.

(omesickness is commonly linked to experiences of missing home/. Some of the definitions for

this term even include symptoms. 9or example, a common translation is depressed by absence from

home/. An indication of this is that a person strongly longs and laments to return to the departed home. As

a result, the person then becomes depressed !9isher, $+2+&.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, hile separation anxiety disorder is

identified by inappropriate and excessive fear or anxiety concerning separation from those to hom the

individual is attached/, the expression of homesickness are noticeable after a disengagement and consists

both the presence of depression and anxiety. -n :SM terms, homesickness may be similar to Separation

Anxiety :isorder, but it may be more appropriate to classify it as either an Ad4ustment :isorder tied ith

anxiety and depressed mood, or for immigrants and foreign students as Acculturation :ifficulty !"#$;&.

7erns !"##+& defined homesickness as the distress or impairment caused by an actual or

anticipated separation from home and people and things youre familiar ith/. 5hruber !"##& adds that

its cognitive trademark is being absorbed thinking about home and attachment ob4ects. People suffering

from homesickness generally notice a combination of depressive and anxious symptoms, disinterested

behavior and has trouble concentrating on topics unrelated to home !5hurber, $+++&.

According to 9isher !"#$;&, homesickness is said to be similar ith grief in that it seems to have

a very distinct indication of being distressed hich is linked ith a recogni


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-t appears that in the case of both the grief and homesickness reaction patterns, a single

psychogenic factor !life event&, the properties of hich are knon, can precipitate the experience of a

distress reaction hich is engineered ithin the constraint of the operation of normal mechanisms.

1ne possibility is that both grief and homesickness are forms of reactive depression hich could

be clinical in some cases and hich differ in cognitive aspects from other forms of depression.

A common denominator central to depressed mood may be loss of control. 5he homesick person

desires to !but cannot& restore the daily experience of being at home= the bereaved cannot restore the

experience of being ith the deceased. -t is the lack of ability to reverse the situation that is the common

denominator hich leads to depression.

OFWs in the Philippines

Philippines, as part of the 5hird 0orld countries, has citi (oever, leaving its

motherland implies a long list of sacrifices.

1ne of the drabacks of seafarers is being separated from their family members and its limited

ability to stay in touch ith them hile on board. 0orking abroad entails the idea that their primary

means of communication ill only be through mobile phones to call and send messages to their loved

ones. -t also implies that they are deprived of atching their children gro and guiding them as ell.

(ence, developing homesickness for both seafarers and their families is unavoidable.

A research as conducted among harbor physicians in *otterdam and identified three leading

psychological difficulties beteen seafarers hich ere loneliness, homesickness and ?burn8out

syndrome !5homas, Sampson, ) @hao, "##&. 1ne of the primary reasons hy these problems develop is

the fact that seafarers are aay from their loved ones. 5he stress caused by this separation may result to

homesickness, marital and family problems hich could lead to suicides at sea.


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0e cannot deny the fact that life on board is very stressful due to hectic schedule, onboard

politics and unavailability of fresh food. (oever, besides these issues, their longing for love and

affection from their families contribute to the aggravation of their stress. Although most of the seafarers

can accept that their social life ould be reduced for months, being detached from their families is hat

they could not emotionally and physically grasp. 5here are seafarers ho 4ust started their married life

hile others have 4ust freshly experienced being a parent. 5he fact of being aay for several months from

their families and not being able to itness their child groing up by their side, ould hurt both parties

hich often result for seafarers to give up their career on the boat !7antharia, "#$;&. -n addition,

homesickness plays a significant role hy seafarers have reduced their level of satisfaction regarding

their 4ob !Blif ) 1


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they experience homesickness. 'asically, seafarers have different strategies in coping each time they feel

distressed from being aay from their homes.


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Bibliography

Akindehin, 9. ., Bkechuku, :. 6., -aye, G. S., 1ligoron, M. B., Faiga, '. 5., ) Aguado, F. D. !"#$3&.

Bffectiveness of Seafarers Safety Measures 1nboard essel.Asia Pacific Journal of Maritime

ducation.

American Psychological Association. !"#$%&. *etrieved from httpCHH.apa.orgHhelpcenterHgrief.aspx

Association, A. P. !"#$;&.!ia"nostic and #tatistical Manaul of Mental !isorders $th ed.0ashington,

:F.

Blif, '., ) 1


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Stephen, K. S. !$+23&.!eath, )rief, and Mournin" ndividual and #ocial (ealities.Ee orkC 5he 9ree

Press.

5homas, M., Sampson, (., ) @hao, M. (. !"##&. 9inding A 'alanceC Fompanies, Seafarers and 9amily

Dife. -n (. Deggate, K. McFonville, ) A. Morvillo,nternational Maritime ransport Perspectives.

*outledge.

5hruber, F. A. !"##&. Preventing and 5reating (omesickness.Pediatrics, pp. 2;8232.

5hurber, F. A. !$+++&. 5he Phenonenology of (omesickness in 'oys.Journal of Abnormal %hild

Psyholo"y, $"38$;+.

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