Death and Dying This report aims to compare Sigmund Freud's hypothesis on the grieving cycle and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross' stages of dying. All men, women and children on the face of this planet eventually lose a loved one and they will also come to a point where they realize their own demise; yet, grieving and death are still not fully understood. Both Freud and Kubler-Ross made amicable attempts to solve the issues and concerns associated with this obvious dilemma. But, the reality is that each of us will have to come to terms with man's mortality in his or her unique way. Freud and Kubler-Ross only provide a blueprint for us to understand the process that each of us utilize when the time comes. Grief therefore should be considered as a very personal progression of self preservation because everyone also has his own death in the back of his mind during the grieving process. The actual and imagined physical, emotional, social and cognitive reactions and symptoms regarding loss and death are very real to those contending with the fact that although he currently survives, eventually it will be his or her turn to pass over.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross is a psychiatrist and author. Her work On Death and Dying has established her as one of the most respected medical professionals in regard to the topic of grieving and death. Her expertise stems from the fact that throughout her career...

After coming to the United States from Zurich in the late 1950's, she noticed how poorly those in terminal states were treated. She bucked the system by sitting and conversing with terminal patients. "My goal was to break through the layer of professional denial that prohibited patients from airing their inner-most concerns." (Kubler-Ross, 1969)
Kubler-Ross felt that during the very stressful period associated with the dead and dying, the grieving individual's decision-making process is greatly affected by inner emotions. Thus, during the grieving period, specific grief stages have a direct affect on one's decision-making and coping abilities. The stages are: Denial, Anger, Depression, Dialogue and Acceptance. Denial reflects on the grieving individual putting off decisions and anger reflects on the emotions being too strong to really allow for viable decisions to be made. Depression leads to the grieving person often detaching themselves and consciously or subconsciously expecting family members, friends, or professionals to make decisions. Dialogue leads to bargaining so at this stage the grieving individual will begin to explore life alternatives and this leads to eventual acceptance. There is no time limit and many individuals get caught in one stage for the rest of their lives and…