On a 1984 Easter Sunday, a drunk driver killed Arlene Victor’s son and daughter-in-law. The only survivor of the collision was Victor’s granddaughter, who went to live with Victor, her husband and their 9-year-old son on their Iowa farm.
If you felt sad following the death of a loved one for a few weeks, would you say you had a psychiatric problem? “The New York Times” reports the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (D.S.M. 5) may label the emotion of grief after the loss of a loved one as the psychiatric disorder called major depressive disorder.
About a week ago, the evening for a group of young adults from Arizona ended tragically after a fatal car accident. Abby Guerra, age 19, and four of her friends were returning from Disneyland when their car crashed on the way home. Officials reported that Guerra and her friend, Tyler Parker, died as a result.
At the age of 19, Danny McCoy never thought he would be responsible for the death of a high school senior girl he hardly knew, Alex Everhart. McCoy, a Marine at the time, made the decision to drink, drive and allow a passenger in his vehicle while he was under the influence of alcohol. The night ended tragicallyafter McCoy passed out at the wheel of his car and hit a pole. Alex sustained fatal injuries.
For years, people have used the Internet as a way to work through their grief. When people hear about all the bereaved who create online memorials at Valley of Life, they seem to instinctively understand the value of grieving online, where people can express intimate thoughts and be heard by others.
