Reaching Acceptance: the Five Stages of Grief

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When one is faced with grief, an individual must go through all of the five stages, whether it is for a brief or extended period of time in order to reach the final stage of acceptance. Denial is the first logical stage that one feels when trying to cope with trauma because it feels safe to trick oneself into thinking that the event did not actually occur. Anger follows when the individual realizes that the trauma did occur and there is nothing to make it better. Depression is the third stage in the grief process in which one feels helpless and dark with nowhere to run. The fourth stage of the grief process is bargaining which is when one will try to find an alternative way to cope with or get out of the situation. Acceptance is the final stage that everybody strives to reach in times of grief in order to move on and cope with the trauma. In order to overcome situations such as losing a loved one, personal trauma, or a lost dream, one must go through all of the stages of grief in order to reach the stage of acceptance.
It is common for one to go into denial after a traumatic situation to make them feel as if the situation did not happen. When one is in shock from grief and does not know how to handle it, many individuals choose to deny the trauma repeatedly so that they do not have to face it, which usually lasts for about a day. According to Margaret Baier, Assistant Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences at Baylor and Ruth Buechsel, a Clinical Health Psychology Fellow, “When this occurs, the grief process may restart, and the person again encounters shock and denial . . .” (Baier and Buechsel 30). When one has a dream and puts their complete trust into it, it is hard for the individual to grasp losing that dream. “You mean m...

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...spectives Of Bereaved Family Members On Their Experiences Of Support In Palliative Care.” International Journal of Palliative Nursing. 19.6 (June 2013): 282-288. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
“The Normal Process Of Grieving.” Harvard Mental Health Letter. 28.6 (Dec. 2011): 2. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Murray, Megan. “Rewards of Bereavement Care.” Nursing Standard. 28.9 (Oct 2013): 64-65. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.
Muselman, Dannette M. and Marsha I. Wiggins. “Spirituality And Loss: Approaches for Counseling Grieving Adolescents.” Counseling & Values. 57.2 (Oct 2012): 229-240. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” Making Arguments about Literature: A Compact Guide and Anthology. Eds. John Schilb, John Clifford. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2005. 771-876. Print.

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