Stages of Grief, Essay Example

Dr. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross is well known for her analysis of the five main stages of grief that all people go through when coping with a serious loss of someone in their lives.  The first stage is called Denial and Isolation in which people “tend to deny the loss has taken place, and may withdraw from our usual social contacts.  This stage may last a few moments, or longer” (MemorialHospital.org par. 2).  Next, the Anger stage is where the grieving person experiences anger towards the deceased, a person or disease that caused the death or even at the world for allowing it to happen.  Sometimes the grieving individual is also upset and themselves for mistakes they have made with the deceased.  The Bargaining stage is usually where “the grieving person may make bargains with God, asking, ‘If I do this, will you take away the loss?’” (MemorialHospital.org par. 2).  The grieving person can also enter a state of Depression in the fourth stage in which they feel numb to the pain, even though anger and sadness still often remain below this state of depression.  Finally, the Acceptance stage “is when the anger, sadness and mourning have tapered off.  The person simply accepts the reality of the loss” (MemorialHospital.org par. 1).

This model presents many key emotional problems and stages that people enter when going through the process of coping with their grief.  Different people can enter these stages at different time frames in the grieving process.  There is no standard set time and the health care professional needs to become an expert at analyzing the stage in which the person is in.  By doing so, the professional that is working with terminal patients can work to assist the family, friends or the patient in coping with their grief effectively.  One major problem that exists is when people try to avoid their feelings or speed through the grieving process without actually accepting their feelings.  “When people suggest “looking on the bright side,” or other ways of cutting off difficult feelings, the grieving person may feel pressured to hide or deny these emotions. Then it will take longer for healing to take place” (MemorialHospital.org par. 4).  The health care professional may experience interference in delivering quality health care if the individual is in the Anger or Depression stages of the grieving model.  These individuals are having difficulty coping and may take out their anger or ill feelings on the health care staff.

References

MemorialHospital.org. “The Stages Of Grief.” Welcome To Memorial Hospital. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. <http://www.memorialhospital.org/library/general/stress-the-3.html>.

“The Kübler-Ross Grief Cycle.” Changing Minds and Persuasion — How We Change What Others Think, Believe, Feel and Do. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. <http://changingminds.org/disciplines/change_management/kubler_ross/kubler_ross.htm>.