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The Kubler-Ross Stage Model

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The paradigms of thanatology have spanned many years with models of death and dying undergoing many changes and attempts to comprehend coping with loss and grief (Roos, 2012). Greenstreet (2004) maintains that grief is an inherent human response that can be defined as an individual’s personal reaction to loss, and can encompass many dimensions including emotional, physical, behavioural, cognitive, social and spiritual. In order to underpin such a concept as grief a Swiss-American psychiatrist, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, proposed a theoretical liner process to promote death awareness to the public which illustrated that dying people will progress through five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance (Buglass (2010). Subsequently …show more content…

I found this particularly relevant to a situation in my personal life as I have a young family member dealing with terminal cancer for the last two years. Being aware of the Kubler-Ross stage model enabled me to anticipate that at some stage I would move from the anger phase to the final stage of acceptance, and this gave me some comfort. Being able to go through these stages accepting the inevitable with my family member brought a sense of closeness between us allowing me to be present in her journey. As Hottensen (2010) explains this process of anticipatory grief can allow us to express our emotions and deepen our relationships, even experiencing growth towards the end of life grieving process. Bolden (2007) reinforces this point explaining that networks of support surrounding death can also lessen the fear and intensity of the grief, …show more content…

In working with clients with intellectual disability there were a few occasions whereby a service user had passed away and I noted this process to be very confusing for the clients. In this sense the Kubler-Ross model has highlighted some limitations on individuality by putting too much emphasis on progressing through these stages to the reach the acceptance stage, which can be seen as promoting some allowance of comfort (Konisberg 2011). However, people with intellectual disabilities may have complications in identifying and vocalising their emotions with grief and in some cases may not have the capabilities to ever experience the stage of acceptance. The Kubler-Ross model emphasizes communicating with the bereaved or dying as a person centred approach whereby talking about the experience helps identify emotions and provide suuport, but as Wijne & McEnhill (2008) maintain difficulties in communication is a major complication for supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities through issues of grief and loss, inevitably impacting on their symptom assessment and support they

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Death and attendant matters have been seminal topics of reflection, disputatious debate, and other modes of social discourse since the dawn of civilization and, presumably, also among the people who predate civilization. The sociology of death was now an accepted specialty area, but the growth and development of a hematological literature in this specialty continued to be very much an interdisciplinary effort, and it was still difficult to disentangle the sociological enterprise from that of other behavioral sciences. Moreover, Dying patients and their family members today also may use the time period between diagnosis and death to ensure that the memory of the decedent will persist after loss. The notion that the dying process may be used as a time to assert one’s identity was first set forth in Death and Identity, where Robert Fulton (1965) argued that ‘‘preserving rather than losing...personal identity’’ is a critical aspect of the dying process. Victor Marshall (1980) subsequently proposed that heightened awareness of one’s impending death trig- gears increased self-reflection, reminiscence, and the conscious construction of a coherent personal

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They say that grief comes in five distinct stages; denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In contrast, it’s often said that everyone handles grief differently. How can these two concepts of loss not only coexist, but be widely accepted? Maybe it’s time we shift our focus to the latter.

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Life has been celebrated and death has been mourned since the begining of time. The certainty of life and death can be seen as tragic or necessary. There is no way to get used to either of these things occurring because the loss of every person important to us causes pain and allows us to reevaluate what our life looks like without them. In the novel, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the author portrays the emotional aftermath of death on those still living by introducing differing viewpionts to show the massive impact culture and age has on the acceptance of the inevitable. It is always tragic when a child outlives their parents, or even when an adult loses someone close to them.

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Death, facing it can paralyze people with so much fear, anxiety, and/or regret that they lose sight of the life still left ahead of them. Death is something that everyone has to face, and sometimes we forget to look at the needs of others, or even our own needs, when death is near. Introduction to Health Communication showed me the amazing work that San Diego Hospice does for people, and has given me a new path to follow in life so I can one day work in a hospice to bring peace to those that may feel that they are at their lowest. Working at a hospice will have its own challenges that I am willing to face because compassion and caring is what we need more of in the world today. I will first explain how uncertainty affects patients at a hospice, then I will examine the problems the caregivers and the patients

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Parents find the need to constantly try and protect their children from anything that could possibly harm them, whether it be emotionally or physically. With that comes along the need to protect their children from death because of the belief that it will be too much for them to handle. In “On Death and Dying” an excerpt from Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s book, Kubler-Ross gives information, from a psychiatrist point of view, about how people deal with death today and some of the similarities and differences from how people dealt with death in the past. Kubler-Ross explains how hiding death from children could in the long run be more damaging than if they were just told the truth from the beginning. She says by not telling them that someone has

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It then goes over the difficulties that people with ID can have when losing a loved one. Alejandro Moralez is a licensed independent social worker (LISW), and works for the University of New Mexico hospitals Center for Development and Disability. His article was written for the UNM School of Medicine. He includes twelve references that deal with grief in the disabled population. Credibility

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Ross states that the steps can be skipped or switched around. The grieving process can cause depression, anxiety, pain, and confusion. (DeSpelder and Strickland 312) Just like everything else in life, there is no telling how someone will handle death, everyone reacts

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This became well-known in pop culture as the Kübler-Ross model, and it contains the following stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance” (“Five Stages of Grief.”). Our situations are not unique, but can have an everlasting effect of people. The experience of loss can motivate us to do great things. Researchers who study cancer do so for the reason that they too have seen or gone through the overwhelming trials of cancer. They have personally been effected.

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There are multiple stages of grief and healing. The stages have no order, so one person may not be at the same stage as another when dealing with the same situation. The same thing applies to the stages of healing. In the novel “Ordinary People” by Judith Guest, the Jarrett family, Conrad, Calvin, and Beth are all in different stages of grief due to the loss of Buck and other reasons varying from character to character. The two main characters Conrad and Calvin move from stages of grief to stages of healing by recognizing why their grieving.

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The Stages of Grief: Explanation of Feelings Experienced During a Loss Shanda N. Shade ENG-112-800 Anissa Demiter October 25, 2015 Background “Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim” (Harrison). Losing someone close to you is always difficult and hard to understand why your mind is taking your mental and physical state through so many phases. The five stages include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

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Introduction Put yourself in the shoes of a terminally-ill patient for a moment. Imagine knowing that your life will come to an end within the next six months, or even sooner. Would you rather have to wait it out and fear every day that you may pass on without being able to say a final goodbye to family. or, with them close by, after you have said your goodbyes and are at peace? Most people would choose the second option.

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Coping with Grief and Loss Summary Grief is an emotional response to loss. There are different stages to grief, 1 is denial, 2 is anger, 3 bargaining, 4 depression, and 5 is acceptance. They don’t have to happen in order and you don’t even have to go through all of them. Shock and disbelief, sadness, guilt, anger, and fear are all some of the symptoms of grief.

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Kennedy, A. (2008). Working through grief. Retrieved from

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These stages of grief were based on her studies of the feelings of patients facing terminal illness, but many people have generalized them to other types of negative life changes and losses, such as the death of a loved one or a break-up. The five stages of grief Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.” Anger: “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?”

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However, the presence of someone who can listen with compassion can greatly help in getting through the grieving process especially if they are provided reassurance and shown empathy without assuming

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