not_a_whiner: (kaidan: ready)
Kaidan Alenko ([personal profile] not_a_whiner) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2013-07-23 01:34 pm
Entry tags:

Coping With Loss, Tuesday, Third Period

"Hey," Kaidan greeted the class. "Come in, get settled."

They were probably going to do that anyway, Alenko.

"Thanks to everyone who turned in their tests last week. And... thanks to anyone who filled it in at all, even if you got rid of it. It's good to start talking about this." His therapist told him that, anyway. "Today we're going to be talking about the influence of diversity on the ways we cope. Environment, ethnicity, gender, it all factors into how we handle grief."

His eyes briefly flitted past Cade. "'Cause we all deal with that differently," he said. "Even in married couples, you'll see that one half will deal differently than the other, leading to friction."

He took to the whiteboard. "The books generally recognize four major influences on the grieving process," he said. "First, culture and ethnicity. Every culture has a different relationship with loss: how long you're supposed to mourn, how men and women are supposed to react, coping strategies, extended family. It all factors in." He wrote that one down.

"Second, gender. Now, some old research specifically states that women are more likely to be the caregivers, while men deal with the pragmatic details. But that's just averages. In some cases, these kind of averages might even lead to expectations that muddle our ability to grieve. So I don't want to focus on that one too much, but... if you want to, we can talk about it." He jotted it down.

"Religion, obviously," he said, writing it out. "Our beliefs and what spiritual support we think we can expect. Religion serves as kind of an anchor to a lot of people. That changes their grieving process. And finally, there's family beliefs. Each family has its own way of looking at the world. Each family expects a certain kind of grieving process from its members."

He turned back towards the class.

"Today, I want you guys to talk about what factors you think are at play in your own background. You can be as detailed or as vague as you want, but sharing helps."
flickofthewrist: (down the rabbit hole)

Re: Pair Up and Discuss

[personal profile] flickofthewrist 2013-07-23 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"They get used to it. They scab over and eventually just grow a tolerance to being at the bottom."

He had experience with that since he was pretty much always circling the bottom. "It becomes normal."
genesishero: (Shadows)

Re: Pair Up and Discuss

[personal profile] genesishero 2013-07-23 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Evan was chewing on his lip, now. This was going to be the new normal? Constantly second-guessing himself, and that gnawing ache right in the middle of his chest that seemed like it would never go away?

"Seems like a pretty awful sort of normal," he noted, softly. "If that's how it stays forever, why even have a class like this one?"
flickofthewrist: (red dust)

Re: Pair Up and Discuss

[personal profile] flickofthewrist 2013-07-23 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
"Because some people like to delude themselves into thinking they can come back from it."

Sorry Evan, Flick wasn't an idealist. Or optimistic. Or a soft touch.
genesishero: (Worried)

Re: Pair Up and Discuss

[personal profile] genesishero 2013-07-23 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Evan was silent for a moment before replying, and then, tentatively, he decided to speak again.

"So... I take it you're not in this class by choice, huh?"

It didn't seem like the sort of thing that someone would take when they thought the subject matter was for people who were delusional.
flickofthewrist: (muddy hymnal)

Re: Pair Up and Discuss

[personal profile] flickofthewrist 2013-07-23 05:27 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm not even on this island by choice."

And yet he hadn't left yet. That was something to get pissed about later. When he was alone.
genesishero: (Cornered)

Re: Pair Up and Discuss

[personal profile] genesishero 2013-07-23 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh..." Evan was going to chew a hole through his lip at this rate. "I'm sorry, then. I wasn't at my last school by choice, either. I kind of know how that goes."

Even if he was pretty sure it wasn't quite the same thing.
flickofthewrist: (no company)

Re: Pair Up and Discuss

[personal profile] flickofthewrist 2013-07-23 09:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"Don't apologize," Flick said, waving that off. "What's done is done. I'll survive."