HLT302 - Death and Stages of Grief PDF

Preview

Summary

assignment...

Description

Death and Stages of Grief

Death and Stages of Grief Grand Canyon University: HLT302 July 2021

Death and Stages of Grief Death and Stages of Grief People of all walks of life experience grief at some point in life, as grief is not isolated to any one person. When one thinks of experiencing grief, it is almost always associated with death, especially death of a loved one. But what is death? “Medicine determines that death has occurred by assessing bodily functions in either of two areas. Persons with irreversible cessation of respiration and circulation are dead; persons with irreversible cessation of ascertainable brain functions are also dead” (Moglia, 2019). The philosophical meaning of death is gentler as human death as the irreversible loss of personhood. In medical terms, death is so cold and impersonal. But anyone who has ever lost a loved one or even friend knows it is personal, it’s very personal. Especially when it is an immediate family member. Lament for a Son takes us on Nicolas Wolterstorff’s journey as he navigates the loss of his 25-year-old son Eric, who was killed in a mountaineering accident in the Alps (Wolterstorff, 1987). This essay will concentrate on the Lament for a Son, Kubler-Ross’s five stages of grief that Wolterstorff encounters, while he moves towards finding happiness after death, and the significance of death to the Christian narrative. Losing your parents makes you an orphan, losing your spouse makes you a widow, but there is no word to describe the loss of a child. Nicolas Wolterstorff has found himself as a member of this nameless club that no member wants to be a part of. Eric Wolterstorff was a young 25-year-old male who was mountaineering in the Alps, when he was involved in a climbing collision that took his life. Nicolas Wolterstorff is about to experience a wide variety of emotions firmly rooted in his grief of the loss of Eric. The Kubler-Ross model of the Five Stages of Grief can help to understand and describe the five common stages of grief, popularly referred to as DABDA: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Gregory, 2021). The first

Death and Stages of Grief stage of grief is denial, which can consist of avoidance, confusion, elation, shock and fear. Denial is the stage that helps to survive the loss, while life is no longer making sense (Gregory, 2021). The second stage is anger which is full of frustration, irritation, and anxiety. Once someone begins to live in “actual” reality again and not the “preferable” reality, anger generally starts to set in (Gregory, 2021). This anger can be directed at people who are seen as “at fault” or “lacking responsibility”, it can be anger at one-self for unresolved issues, missed opportunities, or guilt. The third stage is bargaining where the grieved struggle to find meaning, reach out to others, or tell their story (Gregory, 2021). The grieved will often reach out to the universe in the hope to make the pain go away. The fourth stage is depression, where the grieve can feel overwhelmed, helplessness, hostility and a need for flight (leaving a situation) (Gregory, 2021). Of the five stages, publicly, depression is the most commonly accepted form of grief. The fifth stage is acceptance, which often includes exploring options, new plan in place, and moving on (Gregory, 2021). It’s an acceptance that you will be ok, despite the death of your loved one, it’s knowing there will be good and bad days, but most importantly – knowing your love one can never be replaced, but that it is ok to move, grow and evolve into a new reality (Gregory, 2021). Through his writing, Wolterstorff shows the reader the journey he endured and how he experiences all five stages of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Wolterstorff first found himself in denial, as he was strongly in rejection of his son’s death, as he had always prayed to the Lord God to protect his son, and suddenly with a call from Eric’s landlady, his son was in an accident and killed. Wolterstorff begins to feel great anger that he somehow failed his son and family. The angry also spreads to Eric, as Eric is the one who made the choice to go mountain climbing. Without prompting, Wolterstorff then finds himself in the bargaining stage as he begins to have conversations with God. He enters into a dialogue with

Death and Stages of Grief God seeking answers as to why his prayers had gone unanswered that God should protect his children even in the times of worst adversity. Depression then begins to set in as Wolterstorff classifies himself in a recessive state and recollects that all things of his son go into obscurity, that all he does is cherish him (Wolterstorff, 1987). Eventually, Wolterstorff found acceptance, as he realized the death and accepted his son Eric, is gone and he begins to again find peace within God. After such a loss, we seek to find joy and hope the resurrection can be comforting. For Nicholas Wolterstorff, this included an immediate retrieval of his son’s body and seeking comfort in scripture, knowing that Judgement Day will allow him to rejoin his son in heaven. Wolterstorff remembers of the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus Christ resurrected from death, and he hopes that his son now is living in eternity and that on Judgement Day he will meet him in heaven and apologize to him (Wolterstorff, 1987). There is also meaning and significance of death in light of the Christian narrative. Death hold a great significance as we Christian believe that one should seek the words of Wisdom from God in light, that is, God is always sought in light not in times of darkness. Wolterstorff went to seek God’s guidance in moments of his darkness, just after the news of his sons untimely passing. He however, learns that God should spy on in moments of light, that is, when there are good moment and one should not console in the Gospel. Christians take great hope in knowing that God has a purpose for each and every individual. “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uniformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13, NIV). As Christians, it’s ok to grieve, it a good and right thing to grief, grieve is a hopefully experience as Christians know grief is temporary (Challies, 2017). In the teachings of Christianity, we must remember that death is not the end of the world, although many fear death, it is ok to have fear; but

Death and Stages of Grief remember that in Christianity, death was the outcome of the downfall of man and that was when he entered the world. Understanding the grieving process, approaches, and practices of various faith traditions different than one’s own is important. As the current and future of health care, these skills will help to create a healing environment for our patients. A healing environment can be a designated space within a health care environment or it can be a space within one’s own home, it can be used by patient, family or the grieving. Something as simple as enhancing and/or allowing more natural light into the home, or bringing in more plants can help to create a healing environment in your home (University of Minnesota, 2016). After all, at some point in our life, we will be the grieving and can only hope for compassion and understanding.

Reference Challies, T. (2017). How to Grieve Like a Christian. Challies.com. Retrieved from https://www.challies.com/articles/how-christians-grieve/ Gregory PhD., Christina. (2021). The Five Stages of Grief An Examination of the Kubler-Ross

Death and Stages of Grief Model. Psycom.net. Retrieved from https://www.psycom.net/depression.central.grief.html Moglia, P., PhD. (2019). Death and dying. Magill’s Medical Guide (Online Edition). Retrieved from https://eds-a-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/eds/detail/detail? vid=1&sid=3f2c3efb-d225-4826-a5321d71c2203423%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2 l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=89093381&db=ers Shelly, J. A., & Miller, A. B. (2006). Called to care: A Christian worldview for nursing (2nd ed.). InterVarsity Press. https://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/intervarsitypress/2006/called-to-care_a-christian-worldview-for-nursing_ebook_2e.php University of Minnesota. (2016). How You Can Create a Healing Environment at Home. Retrieved from https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-you-can-create-healingenvironment-home Wolterstorffrstorff, N. (1987). Lament for a Son. Retrieved from https://viewer.gcu.edu/P8UMA8...