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The Five Stages Of Grief Analysis

Decent Essays
The loss of a loved one is one of the most distressing emotional experiences people face, yet virtually everyone will deal with grief at some point (Howarth, 2009). Elizabeth Kubler-Ross has been credited for developing the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (2014). The key to understanding these stages is not to think that someone must go through all the stages, but rather use them as a guide for the grieving process. According to Zioosk, and Shear, it is important to realize, that while each individual grief process is unique, there is a form of grief that is disabling, interfering with function and quality of life (2009). This paper will focus on how grief and bereavement can affect the human body,…show more content…
An analogy that is well used to describe how we all require time to grieve the loss of a loved one. Martin and Farris have found that while a person who is going through the grieving process, they will experience common grief reactions such as sleep disturbances, change in appetite, and a lack of motivation (2015). No amount of time will heal your loneliness, anger, despair, fear, or any other emotions you experience in your grief, unless you do the necessary grief work (Martin, Farris, 2015). At its core, grief may be the state of emotional unrest and frustration associated with wanting what one cannot have (Prigerson, Maciejewski, 2008). Holidays and anniversaries can be the most perplexing to defeat. For many who lose those close to them, certain events like Christmas can trigger loneliness (Martin, Farris, 2015). It is best for the individual to not endure these special holidays alone, but rather be surrounded by loving family and friends. If grief last more than twelve months a person can experience concerning feelings of grief such as overworking, increased alcohol intake, and attachment to objects (Martin, Farris, 2015). This response may be accompanied by difficulty accepting the death, anger over the loss, a diminished sense of identity, feeling that life is empty and problems in engaging in new relationships or activities (Bryant, 2012). When witnessing someone…show more content…
The intensity and duration of grief is highly variable. There are multiple factors before considering someone may be developing a complicated grief, such as, the person’s age, health, spirituality, and cultural identity (Zioosk, Shear, 2009). Each of these factors need to be delicately observed before constituting complicated grief. Unfortunately, grief is not a topic of in-depth discussion at most medical schools or general medical or psychiatry residency training programs (Zioosk, Shear, 2009). Psychiatrist today, fail to recognize complicated grief and instead will diagnose their patients for having severe or chronic mental illness (Zioosk, Shear 2009). Psychiatrist will prescribe pills such as fluoxetine, and nortriptyline to ease the mental illness they consider a patient is feeling. Of course, sometimes we may need medication to help us through, but pills are not necessarily the answer to every problem (Martin, Farris, 2013). When psychiatrist overlook complicated grief as “normal” in patients they are putting their patient at risk of inattention or ineffective treatment resulting in suicide. Studies have found that 50% of psychiatrists have lost at least one patient to suicide, and many have lost more than one
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