Understanding the Stages of Grief

Almost 30 years ago, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross write a book - “On Death and Dying”. The concept of 5 stages of grief was mentioned in this book. Since then, this has been used as the basic guideline to understand the stages of grief that people may go through when a loved one passes away.

Here we take a closer look at what these stages of grief are:

• Denial - This is the very first phase that people go through when they hear that a loved one has passed away. At that point in time, they feel that in doing this, they would be able to somehow undo the loss they are experiencing. Although this is a healthy way to cope with your grief, you can’t be in a state of denial for an extended period of time.
   
• Anger - This is the next stage where people feel that their loss is unfair. This makes them feel anger and frustration when they are interacting with people around them.
   
• Bargaining - This is the state where the “what ifs” and “if onlys” come into the picture. People begin to think of what things they should or could have done differently when the person was alive. They go through feelings of sadness, numbness and apathy.
   
• Acceptance - This is the final stage of grief and is also the start of the healing process. The grieving person eventually comes to terms with their loss.

While every person is unique and the manner in which they grieve will be unique too, these stages we just discussed are more of a basic outline of the different emotions that people go through when dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Contact us at Tindall Funeral Home through our online form or call (315) 468-5521 if you want to know about our funeral services and need advice on different services.