Elisabeth Rubler-Ross: The Five Stages Of Grief

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Loss and grief are part of everyone's life. Elisabeth Rubler-Ross came up with the five stages of grief. The five stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. However, these stages are not set in stone this is the normal sequence of grief. These stages are a part of the framework of us learning to live with loss. But everyone goes through the stages of grief differently. People going through grief can also repeat stages more than once. Our grief is as unique and individual as our lives.

First, the stage of denial. In this stage we block and hide from the pain. This is a defense mechanism that protects us from the first wave of pain. At first the world becomes meaningless and overwhelming, this sends us into shock. We block the feelings and hide from the fact that we lost someone important. Then we wonder how, why, or if we should go on with life. However, this is the beginning of the healing process. We begin to cope after we get over the immediate shock of the loss. At the end of this process all the feelings that we were denying begin to surface.

Second, is the stage of anger. This is a necessary stage of the healing process. The anger we feel can be aimed at anything and anyone. We know we shouldn't be anger but out emotions make us feel resentment because of the pain we are feeling. Then …show more content…

This stage feels like it will last forever, our grief enters into it's deepest level. Sadness and regret is related to the loss in the depressed stage. Depression can be overwhelming or subtle during this stage. We worry about big and little things going on around us. We can withdraw from life, and wonder if there is any point in going on. Since depression is seen as unnatural, we question ourselves and the situation. We sometimes wonder if we should even be depressed about the situation. But depression is normal and appropriate when dealing with a loss. Depression is a necessary step in the process of

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