KublerRosss

Kubler-Ross's theory of the five stages of grief was first introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book "On Death and Dying". Kübler-Ross was a Swiss-American psychiatrist who worked extensively in the field of hospice care and death/final stages of life research. She proposed that patients who are facing terminal illness experience a specific process of emotional response that can be categorized into distinct stages.

The five stages of grief that Kübler-Ross outlined are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Each stage is a natural response to the impending loss of a life, and the progression from one stage to another is not strictly linear. Kübler-Ross maintained that individuals may oscillate between these stages as they process their emotions.

Denial is the initial stage where the patient may refuse to acknowledge their mortality. Anger follows, where the patient becomes resentful of their situation and may lash out at those around them. The bargaining stage is a desperate attempt to reverse or avoid their fate by making deals with a higher power. Depression is characterized by feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest in activities. Acceptance is the final stage, where the individual comes to terms with their fate and finds a way to move forward.

Kübler-Ross's work has had a profound impact on the field of palliative care and end-of-life research. Her five stages have been widely used to guide those working with individuals who are facing terminal illness. However, some researchers have criticized the rigidity of her model and the assumption that individuals will always pass through the stages in a linear fashion.