What are the 5 stages of grief

The diagnosis of a terminal illness It is the beginning of a process which is divided, according to the traditional classification, into five phases. It also applies to the pain a person creates when losing a loved one.

Although this process was developed in 1969 to describe the emotions of those who have received this terrible diagnosis, it can also be applied to other events that have meaning emotional impact similar, even if, among other things, always incomparable.

THE five stages of griefknown by the acronym DABDAthey were identified by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her book On death and dying.

Although this is a theoretical model, the DABDA stages help identify the process that this means face deathwhether it is yours or that of a person close to you.

What are the 5 stages of death?

In an article published in Very Well Health, palliative care specialist Angela Morrow explains that DABDA are the initials, in English, of the five stages of pain or death, when talking about terminal illness, denial (rejection), anger (going), bargaining (negotiation), depression (depression) and acceptance (acceptance).

After the publication of Kübler-Ross, much research was done on the subject and, in this way, it can be said, as Morrow explains, that “Not all people experience a similar event perceive the five responses, nor will all people who experience them do so in the order in which they were described.”

Furthermore, according to Morrow, “some people will experience all the phases, some in order and some not, and others may experience only a few phases or even get stuck in one.”

The first stage is denial, and it occurs because, “subconsciously, we may even believe we are immortal,” says Morrow. He explains that «when a person is diagnosed with a terminal illness, it is natural that they enter a terminal illness phase phase of denial and isolation”.

They may require a new series of tests because they believe the diagnosis is wrong or they refuse treatment. Another typical reaction is to refuse to talk about it. Denial, in general, lasts a short time.

THE anger, or anger, occurs after the patient accepts the diagnosis of terminal illness. Logically, Morrow explains, you start to wonder: why me? Also, realize that all your hopes, dreams and plans will not come true. This, of course, creates anger and frustration.

This anger finds its target doctors and nurses, in addition to the family itself. Kübler-Ross states that this type of patient “will raise his voice, demand, complain and demand attention.”

Anger follows negotiation, a mechanism that most people have tried at some point in their lives, especially when anger is lacking. In this case the negotiation consists of help the needypromise to no longer lie or lead a good life in exchange for God’s healing of the disease.

Non-believers often negotiate with doctors and nurses, who they they promise actions what will they do if, at least, they can live a little longer. This phase shows an attachment to an almost irrational hope.

Since neither anger nor negotiation works, patients fall into depression. The symptoms of the disease themselves, together with a greater burden of care, lead to suffering from this state of mind.

Kübler-Ross explains that in this stage there are two types of depression. Reactive depression occurs as a reaction to current and past losses, while preparatory depression is the stage in which the patient must deal with imminent loss of everything and all those he loves.

According to Morrow, the “acceptance phase It’s where most people want to be when they die. It is a phase of peaceful resolution of the fact that death will come and of calm anticipation of its arrival.”

“For the lucky person who achieves acceptance, the final stage before deathoften spent in silent contemplation as he turns inward to prepare for his final departure,” adds Morrow.