"expressing negative emotions can actually prolong your distress (in grieving)" Ruth Davis Konigsberg.
I, along with many other mental health practitioners, knew and taught the five stages of grief (denial, bargaining, anger, depression and acceptance) outlined by Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in 1969. New research from numerous sources debunks Kubler-Ross's stages of grief and the need to express the negative experience around one's loss. Kubler-Ross first came up with the stages in relation to the reaction to one's own death, and then it was applied to all grief. It turns out that grieving does not happen in stages, and most people who lose a loved one experience yearning for them more than either depression or anger.
Living with dementia has been said to be a journey of grieving. Certainly we do see the person with dementia diminishing before our eyes. The new research about grief may be very beneficial to us. For one thing, the research certainly does support not wallowing around in negativity; something we have addressed in this blog. The new research does indicate that looking for the positive is supportive to the process. More on this tomorrow.
(Book: The Truth About Grief by Ruth Davis Konigsberg)
http://drjoanne.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteIt's very important to consider the above when discussing the issue of mourning. Thank you for your blog.