Five Stages of Grief
5 stages of grief
The five stages of grief is the most well known model exploring the emotions you go through following death of a loved one.
The stages are:
Denial – This cannot be happening to me.
Anger – Why is this happening? Who is to blame?
Bargaining – Please make this not happen, then in return I will …
Depression – I am too unhappy to do anything.
Acceptance – I am becoming at peace with myself and accept what happened.
Elisabeth Kubler Ross and David Kessler
I have great respect for Elisabeth Kubler Ross. She was born in Switzerland in 1926 and has written many books about dying. I have read a lot of them and use many of her ideas in my work with you.
David Kessler was born in 1959 and worked with Kubler Ross on their famous book “On Grief and Grieving”. Kessler also wrote a book identifying a sixth stage of grief, this being Closure. He calls it Finding Meaning transforming grief into a more peaceful and hopeful experience.,
Five stages of grief and how I work with you
My work with you on the 5 stages of grief.
I do not see the five stages as a simple progression. Your life has become muddle thinking about the deceased, thinking about your emotions and trying to deal with them.
You will probably go through the stages of Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression & Acceptance but not necessarily in that order. Your life has probably been turned upside down and your emotions are raw. It is not a simple process and you may well need help.
I will help you understand your emotions and how these equate to the five stages. It likely they are jumbled up and bounce from one stage to another, it is not a problem, just the way your mind is working.
Together we will work through this. There is no set time for you to experience all the stages, it may be a few weeks, it can be months.
7 stages of grief
You may often find reference to the seven stages of grief. These being Shock, Denial, Bargaining, Guilt, Anger, Depression and Acceptance. They are broadly similar. I will use the five stages in my work with you.
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