Theories Of Grieving

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“I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” (J.R.R Tolkien, 1955). The manifestation of grief varies from person to person, culture to culture, even religion to religion. However, in each case a few constants remain such as the stages of grief. How does the type of death affect grieving? What about the age grieving person? In 1969 Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross proposed a set of psychological stages that patients had in response to their demise (John D. Canine, 1996).
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
This set of stages is commonly associated by many as the set of emotions they should experience when a loved one dies. Dr. Kubler-Ross did her best to explain that not all patients would experience these stages while …show more content…

Lofland defines space as “The area within one’s life span that is set aside and dedicated to fulfilling the dying role” (Lyn Lofland, 1978). Various people will assign “space” to different things as an example: Alan Rickman was fairly private with his previous battles with cancer and didn’t broadcast that his cancer had metastasized again until shortly before his death. In stark contrast Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson was very open about his tongue cancer and said he got it from going down on his Iron Maiden (even though it was HPV). Lofland defines “population” as the patient's choice to play out the dying role alone or in the company of others who are also dying (Canine 1996). With a multitude of hospice homes and live in hospice services available to the modern family, it has become possible to have a closer semblance of privacy in the dying patient’s final moments of life. Moving down Loflands list, knowledge is simply defined as who will be told when this person (the patient) is expected to die (Canine, 1996). Knowledge in this sense is very similar to power of attorney, whether they are in charge of the dying patient's estate or healthcare. Last on Loflands list is stance, this is when a dying person assumes their role by the philosophy in which they lived. This time can be portrayed to the patient in way that lends them a belief that they have control up until the time of death. Some patients go through this time spreading religious beliefs while others may turn to charity, “Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you” (Shannon L. Alder,

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