Stages of Greif

 Introduction:

 Grief is something every person will experience at some point in his life, and can affect people in very different ways, So for medical students and future doctors, understanding how people usually cope with their losses is very important, because we often meet patients and families during some of the hardest moments in their lives.

 Key psychological Concepts: Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s model describes five stages of grief: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance , they are a part of the framework that makes up our learning to live with the one we lost. They are tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. But they are not stops on some linear timeline in grief. Not everyone goes through all of them or in a prescribed order, also these stages are not linear ; individuals may move back and forth between them or experience several of them at the same time.

 Denial, This first stage of grieving helps us to survive the loss. It serves as an initial protective mechanism, allowing the person to absorb the overwhelming information gradually 

 Anger, the second stage of grief, reflects frustration and emotional pain,often directed toward healthcare providers, family members, or fate. Anger is a normal and important part of the healing process.

 Bargaining: the third stage of grief, it is the stage where the people try to regain the sense of control, they start asking themselves “ what if” or “if only”, these questions reflect their minds attempt to rewrite what happened or prevent the loss,

 Depression: the fourth stage of grief, This stage brings deep sadness, withdrawal, and emotional heaviness as the person fully realizes the impact of the loss. It is a reflective stage, where the individual begins to process the emotional weight of the situation and understand what life will look like moving forward.

 Acceptance: the fifth stage of grief, This stage is about accepting the reality that our loved one is physically gone and recognizing that this new reality is the permanent reality, also it is important to know that acceptance does not mean being “OK” with the loss Relevance to medical practice: Doctors and Clinicians play an important role in supporting grieving patients and families, so recognizing in which stage of grief the patient is will help the physicians to respond with empathy rather than misunderstand some emotional reaction from the patients as hostility or noncompliance.

 Effective psychological support can include: 

 1. Active listening and validating emotions.

2. Compassionate communication, especially when discussing prognosis or end of life decisions.

3. Being aware of cultural and religious variations between different patients. Also, understanding grief can help the healthcare providers to deal with their own emotions when something bad happens to their own patients, which will protect them from the emotional burnout.

Conclusion: Grief is a very complex psychological process, as it is shaped by emotional, cognitive, and cultural factors. For medical practitioners, recognizing the stages of grief and providing sensitive, patient-centered support is essential for high quality care. So building these skills helps create a stronger connection with the patient and their families, which will make the healthcare providers support their patients during some of the toughest moments they face.