Death and Stages of Grief
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Feb 20, 2024
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Death and Stages of Grief Yasmine Kanan
Bachelor’s in healthcare administration, Grand Canyon University HLT 302 Professor Williams 6-11-23
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The Five Stages of Grief The five stages of grief include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. An according to the Kubler-Ross model, there is order to them and are necessary to be comprehended as a reference to grief instead of a guide. Mourning a loved one is an intimate and
difficult experience for each individual and when going through this or being supportive of someone going through it becomes very emotional and confusing. In addition, these emotions are
also forward steps in the healing process even when it’s difficult to process in the moment; it takes time and patience. The Kubler-Ross Model is a theory of the five stages of grief and was created by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross a Swiss American Physiatrist; these five emotional reactions to
loss are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance and are also referred to as the “five
stages of death,” (Casabianca, 2021). The Meaning of Death
Philosophically, death is defined as the idea the separation of the soul from the body and is the irreversible loss of functioning of the organism. In addition, the medical meaning of death is defined as an individual who has sustained ither the irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory function or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem to be dead (Sarbey, 2016). Wolterstorff’s Experience The five stages of grief include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. When Wolterstorff loses his loved one the first thing, the experiences is denial. He touches the cheek of his loved one and does not understand how it happened or what exactly death means. After the death of his son, he tries to find happiness in the world; Wolterstorff son had died in a hiking accident at the age of 25. When he received the call about his son Eric Wolterstorff was in
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denial; he began with a few moments of silence when he received the call and was in complete shock and disbelief. Shortly after, there was not much of an explanation of him being angry, but anger is natural when losing a loved one and is part of the five stages of grief. The only anger the
spoke of was the anger he had behind the idea of his son climbing the mountain and finding himself in that accident. Bargaining is another part of the five stages of grief and Wolterstorff expressed his bargaining stage when he stated that he almost wished his son Eric died of disease instead of the accident because the pain would not have been so bad, and he would have had more time and a chance to say goodbye to his son (Wolterstorff, 1978). Shortly after the depression begins for Wolterstorff and he is extremely sad and is feeling the loss of his son and losing him so suddenly without being able to say goodbye. Wolterstorff explains his pain as something has stuck him but has also faded with time. He explains that joy is something he can feel alongside his pain and demonstrates this in his faith and hope for the future. He expresses that the pain he feels for his son lives in his heart and that existence is bond he now shares with his deceased son. He is hopeful that his son is living a better life with God; although his son Eric is dead, he is hopeful that, as all other human fate, he will be resurrected and saved from the second death. In the beginning of his son’s death, he does not show immediate comfort in the idea of resurrection and has doubts that there will even be a resurrection and questions why God just can’t bring his don back to Him. He struggled with his own existence without his son. Significance of Death in Christian Narrative In the Christian narrative is encouraged of Christians to not feel hopelessness in their grief because this trait is only found in non-believers who do not believe that once one dies, they will be resurrected in the afterlife (Thessalonians 4:13-14). Christians are to believe that death is not the end and not the last instance where one will be able to see their loved ones but tells
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people to not fear death and there are things to look forward such as the acceptance of resurrection, but as Wolterstorff explains, it will not take away the pain and grief completely. Understanding the Grieving Process Understanding the grieving is an important part of healing and learning to adjust to life either after the loss of a loved one or helping someone go through the grieving process. The first step forward is for an individual to recognize their feelings and understand that their feelings are valid. Second, it is important to give yourself time and space to grieve properly. Lastly, it is important to take care of yourself after the loss of someone you care about. A lot of this process also includes trusting in God and allowing Him to guide you through it. Having faith and trust in him is what will help get through the grieving process. References
Casabianca, S. S. (2021, February 11). 5 stages of grief after facing a loss
. Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief Sarbey B. Definitions of death: brain death and what matters in a person. J Law Biosci. 2016 Nov 20;3(3):743-752. doi: 10.1093/jlb/lsw054. PMID: 28852554; PMCID: PMC5570697.
Wolterstorff, N. (1987). Lament for a son
. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co..