The death of Steve Jobs was a powerful reminder of the grieving process for me. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross first wrote about these stages in her best-selling book in 1969. Looking at photographs of Steve Jobs, the younger version founding a business out of a garage, and the older version, his health clearly declining, yet still passionate about his work, reminded me that grieving the loss of one’s health does not mean being defined by the deterioration. He clearly lived out his life to the fullest.
The stages of grieving are not by any means concretely set in any order. In her studies with the dying, Kubler-Ross found this to be a general pattern. Remember though, one can jump from one to the other quite rapidly or circle back around again and again and again. The journey through grief looks very different for each person.
5 Stages of Grief:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
Marlayne Whitlock, MA
mwhitlock@GROWCounseling.com
