A espiritualidade como elemento de resiliência psicológica no enfrentamento do luto: uma análise a partir de estudos de casos de pais enlutados

Abstract

Losses are common in life. The death of someone close brings suffering and produces feelings of sadness and of longing to be together. Scientific literature emphasizes that losing a child is one of the greatest pains a human being can experiment. The mourning of a father or a mother is long, and can last several years or a lifetime. In this process, parents may find elements of psychological resilience to support themselves. Resilience may be understood as the capacity for overcoming adversities in life. This research underpins the thesis that spirituality can be one of those elements of resilience. Spirituality here understood as personal faith or belief in something that transcends human being, which might be the Holy, God, or any other designation employed by the bereaved parents. The research is divided into two parts: a theoretical one, which explores the concepts of bereavement, resilience and spirituality; and an empirical one, with case studies. The results obtained confirm the thesis that spirituality can be one of the protection factors for bereaved parents.