Nowlin: The Five Stages Of Grief

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Every individual, at least once in their life, experiences loss; that may mean the loss of a job or loss of a loved one, as every individual handles their losses differently. How one deals with loss is mostly known as the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Grieving is a long process for many, while adjusting to new changes within one’s life, one is most likely grieving as well. However, it is not always a given whether an individual will even grieve. Therefore, even though the five stages of grief are accurate, grief is not always experienced the same. What exactly are the “five stages of grief”? To start, grief is defined as “deep sorrow, especially that caused by someone's death.” (“Grief”). Many …show more content…

Nowlin gives examples throughout the novel of the five stages, from an insider's perspective. Later on in the novel Jack goes through and experiences the following stages, which are bargaining, depression, and last but not least, acceptance. Despite the five different stages, many believe that depression is the one and only stage of grief. Even though depression is a main aspect within the five stages, many individuals may not even experience grief after a loss. Robyn Howarth, a board-certified Pediatric Neuropsychologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, states that “The normal grieving process is considered to be characterized by feelings of great sadness and anger” (Howarth). Howarth also mentions physical symptoms of weight loss, difficulty concentrating, as well as insomnia. Howarth. These symptoms are well known, correlating to the five stages of grief, and how many individuals categorize their sorrow. However, these symptoms, or stages, are not always experienced within the grieving process due to “special

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