Understanding the Stages of Grief

Almost three decades ago a book titled “On Death and Dying” by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross made mention of the concept of- “5 Stages of Grief”. Ever since many people use this as a standard guideline to relate to the manner in which people go through the grieving process after the death of a loved one.

Since every person is different, they may go through different stages in a different sequence, but this a good way to understand the various stages of grief:

1. Denial - Most people instinctively go through the denial phase when they hear about the death of someone close to them. For a brief moment they reject the thought and feel that in doing so, it will undo the loss they have suffered. While this is one of the first stages of any healthy coping mechanism, it should not continue for an extended period of time.
    
2. Anger - After the denial stage comes the anger stage and people that have been affected by the death of a loved one feel that the loss is unfair; they become frustrated and sometimes angry with others as well.
    
3. Bargaining - People have a tendency to look back and think of all the “if only’s” and “what if’s” and wonder if things would have been different if they had done things differently.
    
4. Depression - In this stage the person feels intense pain and sadness that can sometimes last for a number of months on end. They may go through feelings of apathy, disinterest in everything, sadness
   and numbness.
    
5. Acceptance - This stage heralds the start of the healing process where the grieving person finally comes to terms with his/her loss.

If you want to know more about funeral or memorial services, don’t hesitate to contact us at Wagg Funeral Home today and we’ll be happy to help.