Kubler-Ross Grieving Model
Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler Ross is better known for her Kubler Ross Model of grieving. Her five-stage stage model is based on what a terminally ill person experience in the process of realizing their mortality. Kubler Ross suggested that people go through five stages of grieve. They include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
Denial is the first stage of grieving and can help one survive the loss of a loved one. In this stage, one may often cling to a false hope that maybe a mistake must have happened somewhere. During this stage, one is living in ‘preferable’ reality rather than in ‘actual’ reality. The denial stage, however, helps one cope and survive grieve. When the shock and denial begin to diminish, the process of healing starts since the suppressed feelings start coming to the surface.
Once the suppressed feelings begin to show, one starts living in ‘actual’ reality again, and anger might start to emerge. Anger might make one to blame themselves or others for the cause of the loss and may project their anger to family and friends. Mental health professionals believe that anger is a necessary stage of grieve and encourage people to feel anger(Worden, 2018) truly. The more truly one feels anger, the quicker the process of healing.
When a person has genuinely acknowledged the feeling of anger, they might start to believe that they can avoid grieving through some bargaining. One becomes desperate to go back to how life used to be before the loss. The feeling of guilt often causes bargaining, and one is at this stage, willing to make changes in an attempt to bring things back to normal.
The feeling of guilt and bargaining can induce depression once a person or situation is gone or over permanently. During this stage of depression, one may withdraw from life, express feelings of hopelessness, and the situation might seem too overwhelming for one to face. One might also experience suicidal thoughts if they do not seek help.
The last stage of grieving is acceptance, where one accepts the new reality that the loved one will never come back. In this stage, emotions begin to stabilize, and one can finally learn to live with the loss. One might even start making new relationships, engage with friends, move on, grow, and evolve into the new reality.
In overcoming grieve, a person might need to engage in self-care activities which could help to bounce back to reality. Counselling is the best approach towards overcoming grief since it helps one work through unresolved or unacknowledged grieve. Counselling can be through bereavement groups, support group, and individual counselling( DeDiego &Fletcher, 2017). Counselling helps one to cope with grief effectively. If one experiences suicidal thoughts, feelings of detachment, or if one is finding it difficult to go on with daily life.
Anti-depressants, sedatives, or anti-anxiety medications might be prescribed to help one sleep or get through the day. The prescriptions are, however, opposed by some doctors since they believe that these pills do not allow one to experience the grief truly. Others may prescribe physical exercise, like taking a walk or engage in sports regularly.
Reading a good novel, spiritual reads, and self-help books can also help one relax and relieve stress. Listening to music or watching a movie might also impact positively on both physical and emotional well-being. Music and movie can reduce anxiety and relieve symptoms of depression; thus, it is a recommendable self-care activity.
Eating a healthy diet, making doctor and dentist appointments, and maintaining good health is also an essential part of self-care practice. One can also engage in cooking or baking, singing, taking yoga classes or retail therapy. The activities help in improving both physical and psychological well-being.
References
DeDiego, A. C., Wheat, L. S., & Fletcher, T. B. (2017). Overcoming obstacles: Exploring the use of adventure-based counselling in youth grief camps. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 12(2), 230-
Worden, J. W. (2018). Grief counselling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health practitioner. Springer Publishing Company. 241.