William Worden's 4 duel tasks

William Worden's duel tasks are part of the proposals that are used today to face a loss.

When there is a duel it is very difficult to put an end point, then, very vivid memories are continuous, especially when the loss has been recent.

Content

• The duel
• Attachments and duel
• The duel from Worden's perspective
• William Worden's duel tasks
  • 1. Accept the reality of loss
  • 2. Work from emotions and the pain of loss
  • 3. Adapt to a medium in which the deceased is absent
  • 4. Emotionally relocate the deceased and continue living
  • Bibliography

The duel

All human beings, either to a greater or lesser extent, suffer a loss at some point in their lives. It could be said that this occurs anywhere in the world and in any society, although not all deal with the issue of death in the same way. In this article, we will focus on duel from death and not other circumstances.

In many societies the belief that there is a life after death prevails, perhaps as a mechanism that prevents the person from resigning and accepting what happened. However, although it has happened in many cultures, the issue of death and the belief of a beyond, in the most civilized societies is where duel can produce a pathology.

According to what is raised by George Engel, The loss of a loved being is as traumatic as burning or hurting in the physiological plane. That is why the duel can imply a deviation from the state of health and well -being of the person suffering from it, who needs time to return to his previous state.

Engel observes the grieving process similar to the healing processes in which the operation can be restored in a total or almost total way, but where there are also cases of healing operation that are not the most appropriate.

Just as the terms of healthy and pathological.

After a person has died, there are certain tasks that must be performed to be able to restore balance and complete that grieving process. It should be noted that William Worden's duel tasks do not follow a specific order, Since duel is a process and not a state and tasks require effort.

Attachments and duel

Bowlby's attachment theory has taught us how human beings can build strong emotional ties and how there are emotional reactions so strong that they shake when these ties are broken or threatened.

According to Bowlby, these attachments arise from the need we all have for protection and security; They develop at an early age and are directed to specific people, which are few, and also have a tendency to have a long duration in the life cycle.

Establishing attachments with other beings that become significant people is not normal only in children, but also in adults, since this has a survival value.

That is to say, The goal of attachment behavior is to keep an affective bond, So the situations that endanger this bond, cause specific reactions and how much greater the potential of loss is, the more intense the reactions can be.

Following Bowlby, in these circumstances attachment behaviors are activated that are stronger, such as crying, clinging, feeling anger, among others.

If the danger does not disappear, then apathy, rejection and despair ensue. Therefore, Bowlby suggests that, in the evolutionary course, instinctive skills were developed on the fact of losses, which are irreversible, so the behavioral responses that make up the grieving process are aimed at restoring the relationship with the lost object. This is known as "biological theory of duel".

The duel from Worden's perspective

For Worden, the duel is not just a state in which the person is immersed, but rather implies an active process, in which the person must perform a series of tasks to progressively elaborate the loss.

William Worden's duel tasks are four And the person must do them after the loss.

These rules or tasks do not follow a specific order, although it is suggested to follow an order, then, some tasks may be difficult to perform if other previous ones have been carried out.

William Worden's duel tasks

William Worden's duel tasks proposes in his work for the treatment of duel, are the following:

1. Accept the reality of loss

This first task is essential to continue performing the grieving process. Even if death was expected, as in cases of a terminal disease, at the first moment the feeling that it is not true arises, but it is resolved at the same time.

Thus, The first duel task is to face that reality that the person is dead, he has gone and will not return. In addition, it should be assumed that there will not be a reunion, at least not in this life. However, in this phase, search behavior prevails.

Some people can be blocked in this first task for a time and denial can take several forms and levels, but fundamentally it is based on denying reality or irreversible meaning of loss.

Some people may suffer from distortion or deception; According to Worden, some people suffering reach the "mummification", that is, to keep the possessions of the deceased in a mummified state, prepared as when it returns.

It is common for many parents who have lost a child to keep the room as it was before death. Although it is not something strange in the short term, it can continue for many years.

Another example of distortion when the person sees the deceased personified in one of his children, which helps you cushion the intensity of loss, but this only makes acceptance of reality difficult.

In other cases, the suffering person can deny the meaning of the loss, with statements such as "he was not a good father", "we were not so united" or "I don't miss him".

In these situations, people get rid of the clothes and articles of the deceased person. Ending all memories is the opposite of "mummification" and tends to minimize loss.

That is why this first step of accepting the loss is so important to advance. Accepting loss can take time, since not only implies an intellectual acceptance, but also emotional. Well, the person can be intellectually aware of the purpose of the loss, but emotions can take more time to accept information as true.

2. Work from emotions and the pain of loss

The author refers to the physical and emotional pain that many people experience after a significant loss, so it is important to recognize the feelings and not avoid them. It is best to feel the pain fully and know that one day it will happen.

To better explain the duel tasks of William Worden, the author uses a German word "Schmerz", with which he refers to a pain that is defined more broadly and that includes the physical and literal pain that many people experience, accompanied by emotional and behavioral pain. For Worden, it is necessary to recognize and work that pain, since, otherwise, it will manifest itself through symptoms or dysfunctional behaviors.

Also emphasize that Anything that suppresses or avoids that pain only makes the course of duel prolong.

Although not everyone experiences it in the same way, it is impossible to lose someone with whom they were deeply linked and not experiencing a certain level of pain.

Many times interaction with society makes this step more difficult, because society is uncomfortable with the feelings of who suffers a duel. Abandoning pain is considered as insane, morbid or demoralizing.

In fact, what is socially expected of a good friend is that it distracts the person suffering from pain. Therefore, the person can make a short circuit in this phase and deny the pain that is present, hindering the grieving process.

Some people idealize the deceased person, avoid anything that reminds that person, use alcohol or other drugs to refrain from fulfilling this duel task.

3. Adapt to a medium in which the deceased is absent

Carrying out this task implies doing different things, depending on the mourner and the relationship I had with the deceased person. Well, it is not the same when a friend, a father, a son or a couple dies.

Indeed, It may be that the survivor has never been aware of the roles performed by the person who has died now, but discover it time after the loss.

This leads many survivors to resent on having to develop new skills or assume roles that the deceased person previously played.

In these situations, the coping strategy is to redefine the loss of a way that can be for the benefit of the survivor to complete the third task, highlighting that death often also confronts the survivor with what it means adapting to the sense of itself.

4. Emotionally relocate the deceased and continue living

It is about continuing life, in a satisfactory way, without pain by preventing the experience of positive feelings with respect to others.

When fulfilling the duel tasks of William Worden, the duel would end, but this is not simple and takes time, especially in task number four, because, the mourner can never eliminate who has been close to him, nor do can delete from history. Doing so would imply psychic acts that would hurt one's identity.

Based on this, the availability of a survivor to begin other relationships will not depend on "renouncing" the person who is no longer there, but to find an appropriate place for him in his psychological life, a place that is important, but that still leaves room for others.

The advisor should not help the person duel to "give up", but to find a suitable place in his emotional life and allow him to continue living in the world.

This fourth task is often hindered because the attachment of the past is maintained, instead of continuing to form new new ones.

In fact, Many people find that their loss is so painful that they make a pact with themselves to never want again.

That is why the four of William Worden's duel task is one of the most difficult to complete, since there are people who are blocked at this point, to later realize that his life, in a way, It has stopped when the loss occurred.

However, this task can be fulfilled and occurs when, for example, a girl says: "There are other people I can love, and this does not mean that I want my dad less".

These are the challenges that the person must overcome and it is possible that everyone does it in a different way, depending on the resources of which they have, as well as the nature of the loss.

The 5 stages of duel

Bibliography

• Medina, m. AND. M., Americares, p. R., Quadriello-arreguín, l., & With Laura, to. Let's talk about duel.
• Varela López, L. L., Reyes Monroy, C. TO., & Garcia, J. (2017). Types of duel and coping strategies. Recovered from.
• Vega Gallegos, M. TO. (2015). Duel therapy from William Worden's perspective(Bachelor's ahesis, Quito: USFQ, 2015).
• Worden, J. W., Aparicio, á., & Barberán, G. S. (2013). Duel treatment: psychological advice and therapy. Barcelona: Paidós.