Five stages of grief

The Kübler-Ross model describes, in five discrete stages, the process by which people deal with grief and tragedy. Terminally ill patients are said to experience these stages. The model was introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying. The stages have become well known, and are called the Five Stages of Grief.

Enumeration of stages

The stages are:

1. Denial - The initial stage.: "It can't be happening."
2. Anger .: "How dare you do this to me?!" (either referring to God, the deceased, or oneself)
3. Bargaining .: "Just let me live to see my son graduate."
4. Depression .: "God please don't take him away from our family"
5. Acceptance .: "I know my son will be in a better place"

Kübler-Ross originally applied these stages to any form of catastrophic personal loss, such as the death of a loved one, or even divorce. She also claimed these steps do not necessarily come in order, nor are they all experienced by all patients, though she stated a person will always experience at least two.

Others have noticed that any significant personal change can follow these stages. For example, experienced criminal defense attorneys are aware that defendants who are facing stiff sentences, yet have no defenses or mitigating factors to lessen their sentences, often experience the stages. Accordingly, they must get to the acceptance stage before they are prepared to plead guilty.

Grief

In popular culture these stages are almost exclusively applied only to news of one's own impending death. The notion that to resolve grief they must all be followed, in order, is also common.

Although, in 1974, "The Handbook of Psychiatry" defined grief as "...the normal response to the loss of a loved one by death," and response to other kinds of losses were labeled "Pathological Depressive Reactions," this has become the predominant way for counselors and professionals to approach grief, loss, tragedy and traumatic experiences.[1]

Further, many psychiatrists believe real grieving begins after the stages are over, and that "grief work", involving its own set of stages, begins with acceptance, where the Kubler-Ross stages end.

Research on the theory

A February 2007 study of bereaved individuals, from Yale University obtained some findings that were consistent with the five-stage theory and others that were inconsistent with it [2].

Criticisms

The original Kubler-Ross model did not identify five stages of grief. It identified what Kubler-Ross called "the Five Stages of Receiving Catastrophic News" [3].

See also

• Grief
• All Info About Death and Dying

References

• Kubler-Ross, E (1973) On Death and Dying, Routledge, ISBN 0415040159
• Kubler-Ross, E (2005) On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss, Simon & Schuster Ltd, ISBN 0743263448