The grieving process: a literature review

Grieving Process

Literature Search on Grieving Process

Grief refers to a natural process that follows a loss (significantly) such as the loss of a loved one. Grief is accompanied by emotional, social, mental, spiritual, and physical fatigue due to the hopelessness and burns out secondary to the loss. The severity of the grieving process depends on different factors such as the relationship between the dead and the affected and the duration of the illness that led to the loss. The symptoms of grief vary depending on the severity of a loss. Among them, include guilt, hopelessness, gloominess, and depression among other symptoms. However, grief is considered a normal process in relation to the loss, lengthened and/or severe grief complicates the health of the affected. As such, several theorists, including Kubler Ross analyzed the grieving process to create understanding and the ways of managing the symptoms faced by the affected (O'Connor, 2007). Therefore, this research paper performs a research analysis of the comparison between the grieving processes as stated by Ross and that underwent by Job in the bible. It also provides an analysis of the relationship between Ross and Job's grieving process and joy alongside relating the findings from the research with my personal experiences.

Kubler Ross identified five stages of grieving that creates an understanding of the grieving process. Ross shows that grieving occurs through a series of stages (emotional) that include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The grieving process differs significantly depending on the cause such as those for the children grieving due to a divorce, breakup, and substance abuse. Kubler Ross's model can be used to provide a comparative analysis of the grieving process experienced by Job in the Bible. Significant evidence shows that, the grieving process underwent by Job shares significant similarities and differences with the model provided by Kubler Ross. Analysis of Job's story does not show any sense of denial. He is presented as righteous and wise, thereby, has the abilities to recognize all the upcoming events likely to affect him. For example, losing his property does not surprise him and takes two weeks to mourn with his friends, but not in denial state (Shapiro, 1994).

Job does not show any signs of anger towards God or situation that was facing him. Job's discourses do not show any signs of anger. However, he shows anger when he curses the day of his birth and anger towards his friends. Job shows bargaining when he wants to be dead to alleviate the miseries he was undergoing. Job undergoes significant depression as shown in the Bible. Depression plagues him in the light of misdiagnosis of his situation by his friends and their pretend to be wise. Furthermore, analysis shows depression in Job when it states, "the words of his friends were like arrows penetrating his tortured soul." Interestingly, Job's acceptance came prior to the above stages. He accepted the events that were to come, as he believed to be caused by God's wishes and not acts of violence against him (Shapiro, 1994). Grieving process varies significantly across different religions. For example, Islamic religion knows grieving as a normal process after a significant loss and all happenings in life (good or bad) are from God. Despite the significant loss, Islam recognizes that the affected should accept the reality and stand in faith. Therefore, this shows that like Christianity, Islam also recognizes the importance of faith during the grieving process (Mitsch & Brookside, 2004).

Joy and grief are closely related as identified from the analysis of Ross and Job's story. Joy and grief contain unfathomable effects of feeling that point towards the gratefulness. Joy provides an awakening force after a situation that renders people hopeless while grief provides a heartening appreciation of things and people that matter to us most. According to Ross' grieving model, joy provides the concerned with the opportunities to recover from a significant loss. It provides them with the abilities to appreciate the natural events affecting them and coming up with new strategies of coping up with the effect of the loss. On the other hand, Ross shows that grief provides us with the abilities to appreciate what we have before we lose them to the natural forces. As such, the interplay between the two creates a meaning to human life. For example, Joy becomes evident when Job succeeds in overcoming the temptations he was undergoing. In addition, analysis of Job's story in the Bible provides the best avenues of understanding the relationship between joy and grief. The story shows that the joy often preceded grief, and people should adopt adaptive strategies to the effects of the grief (O'Connor, (2007).