The Five Stages of Grief

Tanya Colon

PSY-(PSY-100-0501)

8/28/2017

Amanda Laster-Loftus

The Five Stages of Grief

Grief is an emotion that every individual will experience at least once in their life time. When one grieves it is either from losing someone or something very important in their life. Each and every person is different in how they accept their loss. When one is faced with grief that individual goes through all the five stages of grieving. Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross came up with these stages in respond of an individual who is grieving. The five steps go as follows; denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

The first stage being denial is when an individual rejects the reality of their loss, the individual that is grieving believes that everything is ok and they have no worries about anything that is actually going on around them. The individual is then moved to anger this being the second stage of the grieving process; this is when the reality and the pain of one’s loss can no longer be denied. At this point negative emotions and anger now arises. The third stage of grieving is when an individual looks for any kind of hope that the reality of a loss is able to be avoided this is called bargaining. Once an individual understands and realizes that their loss cannot be avoided they then are depressed this being the fourth stage of grieving, sadness and regret comes soon consumes the grieving individual. The final step of the grieving process is acceptance, this is when the loss of a loved one or that special thing is now accepted and the individual can now able to try and move on in life. When an individual has dealt with all the emotions that come along with grieving they tend to move to the process of healing, rebuilding is the first step (Axelrod, 2017).

Death, is a topic too many across the globe do not want to speak of. However in the African American community death is very important in their culture. Death in African American community is not a time for sadness but yet a time for rejoicing. A time for the deceased for the deceased to no longer have to deal with the trial and tribulations of today’s world. The loss of an individual is mourned and missed but however their death is also a time for remembering all the good times and smiles them brought