The Concept of Mourning by Freud (Essay Sample)

The Concept of Mourning by Freud
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The Concept of Mourning by Freud
Introduction
Everyone will encounter the loss of a loved one at some point in their lives and undoubtedly experience sadness, especially if the person was very close to them. Bokanowski (2019) says that people sometimes feel sorrow, but only for a short space of time, and the process comes to an end in confidence that allows them to continue with their life. According to Ronda (2018), the described lot is obtained when the libido surrenders its affection to the missing one and replenishes its energy to start a new connection. Even though the work is still useful to modern therapists who work with bereaved families, it sparked debate, with some psychologists disputing Freud's statements and others endorsing the findings. Grief inhibits regular interests and produces a lack of capacity to love, which lasts until mourners learn to renounce their attachment to lost goods and renew relationships with other people. Nonetheless, a person grieving a loss may change from attachment to the deceased to a new affection for another object, resulting in intense sorrow devolving into extreme melancholia.
Mourning versus Melancholia
When it comes to grief, Freud highlights the similarities but differences between grieving and melancholia. When a person mourns, he or she goes through a grieving process in the conscious mind (Rhee, 2017, p. 96). Melancholia, on the other hand, happens in one's unconscious mind and indicates an inexplicable loss. When people are in mourning, their perspective in life shifts away from overcoming the loss and the consequences that come with it. According to Ronda (2018), when a person suffers from obsessive sadness, he or she cannot detach the lost object from emotion for many reasons. Furthermore, a person may channel the energy of a deceased loved one into something else. He or she can achieve this by diverting other people's desires inward, producing a deep sense of grief, a humiliation in all activities, and a loss of the ability to love. As a result, it is assumed that mourning is average, while melancholia is thought to be a sickness.
Identification Process
Mourning and melancholia are common reactions during the identification process, and they might influence a person's personality and subsequent character. According to Rhee (2017, p. 97), Freud's weeping and melancholia beliefs are part of the oedipal stage, in which the aspiration of the closely related one has lost the inner division of the superego. According to Ronda's (2018) research, when one surrenders to a sexual object, the ego changes similarly to melancholia. Furthermore, it surrenders its object throughout the identification process to construct the person's identity, but it may not find a sufficient substitute in its search for a replacement object. Following that, it begins the process of self-evaluation via self-interrogation and self-resolution, bringing the object cathexis t