Grieving: The Four Stages Of Grief Counseling

“Whatever’s there to feel, feel it – the riddance, the relief, the fright and freedom, the fear of forgetting, the dull ache of your own mortality. Get with someone you can trust with tears, with anger, and wonderment and utter silence. Get that part done – the sooner the better. The only way around these things is through them.” (Lynch) These words were written by both an undertaker and a poet. Thomas Lynch spent much of his time around the grieving families and saw what affects followed in deaths wake. When a loss occurs, it is entirely normal to grieve in response. Many people grieve in similar patterns and with similar emotions. However, as individual human beings, people all handle grief, like anything else, a little differently. Grieving is not just emotional, and depending on the person, it can affect them physically as well. Loss affects everyone in some way and there are clearly similarities between how people handle the grief, however, some are more self-destructive than others. Doctor Will Meeks

During this time period, this was revolutionary. As time has passed, people have connected these stages to grieving in general not just towards the terminally ill. There is however less evidence supporting that claim. To help resolve this, scientists have cited 4 major components of grief which can be found in all types. These 4 components can be seen in the stages that Kubler-Ross presented. The first of these stages that she presented is known as “denial and/or isolation.” People have a defense mechanism that, in defense of incoming shock, starts to deny the facts and situation. Some start to zone out the facts and words spoken to them completely. The person doesn’t want to hear anything else and just wants to be alone too process everything that’s happening. This denial is a way of trying to sort through these intense emotions while buffering the