By Daniel C Simmons
Introduction

There are many different models to explain how people
grieve, though it’s largely personal. One being the Four
Tasks of Mourning, developed by J. W. Worden. But the
one we’re here to talk about is The Kübler-Ross model,
in particular.
The Basics

Basically, in 1969, Dr. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, in her
book On Death and Dying, defined grief as happening in
5 simple stages, namely:
 Denial
 Anger
 Bargaining
 Depression
 Acceptance
Later versions add the stages of Shock, before Denial,
and Testing, in between Depression and Acceptance.
Stage I: Denial

 The main characteristic is thinking the news never
happened
 The person would continue life as if nothing
happened. (i.e. continuing to do a job even if that job
is no longer required)
 One treatment option is to force the person into
anger deliberately. (Not the smartest thing, but it
works apparently)
Stage II: Anger

 Release of the bottled up emotion from Stage I
 The phrases “Why me?” and “Why not you?” are
common.
 The best treatment options include giving the person
space, helping the person reframe their anger into
useful channels, and of all things just letting them be
angry at you.
Stage III: Bargaining

 This stage is just seeking ways to avoid having the
tragedy happen, a vain expression of hope for the
news’ reversibility
 The main treatment is to not offer the person false
hope of any sort.
 Another treatment option is pointing them even
more at the inevitable, thought this may tip them
into depression which is sometimes necessary.
Stage IV: Depression

 This is where the person realizes, albeit reluctantly,
that the tragedy will happen and there’s nothing
they can do.
 The first thing to do is be there for them, accepting
them in all their current misery.
 Second thing to do, keep them moving, don’t let
them slide further into depression.
Stage V: Acceptance

 The person, by this point, is finally in a point of
stability, where they can finally move on with their
lives.
 This is usually visible by people taking ownership
for themselves and their actions.
 The main thing to do here is to help the person
permanently establish themselves in their new
position, leaving no room for them to return to the
previous stages.
Other Stages added later

 Two other stages to the Kübler-Ross model were
added since the original publication in 1969, namely
Shock, which takes the place of Denial as stage I, and
Testing, which is the 6th stage, causing Acceptance to
become Stage VII.
Popular media

 The Kübler-Ross Model of Grief has been used far
and wide in popular media, and you might not even
realize it, however, this time I’ll only cover three.
The Kübler-Ross model in
Popular Media (Television)

 The protagonist of the long running BBC program
Doctor Who has gone through all 5 stages, as far as I
could find, at least once for each actor to play the
title character. (That’s at least 12 times!)
The Kübler-Ross model in
popular media (Video Games)

 The video on the next slide illustrates a rather
strange theory that the main areas of The Legend of
Zelda: Majora’s Mask each portray the 5 stages of
Grief. If the video does not work, there is a link at the
bottom of your notes packets to use to watch it at
home.

The Kübler-Ross Model
in Popular Media (TV)

 As far as I’ve found, The protagonist of the long
running BBC program Doctor Who seems to have
gone through all 5 stages at least once for each actor
to play the role of The Doctor (That’s at least 12
times).
The Kübler-Ross Model in
popular media (Literature)

 A Limited 5-part Marvel comic book series called
Fallen Son portrays the 5 stages of grief through the
personas of various characters of the Marvel
Universe after the death of Captain America,
specifically Wolverine in Denial, The Avengers
enraged, to a degree (Anger), Hawkeye bargaining
to try and bring Captain America back, albeit in vain,
Spider-Man falling into Depression and Iron Man
representing Acceptance.
The Kübler-Ross Model in
popular media (Literature cont.)

 The DC Comics character The Joker goes through the
5 stages at an impossibly fast pace after hearing he
has a fatal tumor in The Joker’s Last Laugh, though
this later turns out to be a lie.
 The Harry Potter book series features the KüblerRoss model fluently in Books Five and Seven after
the death of Sirius in Book 5 and the death of
Dumbledore in Book 7.
Finale

 I hope I have either given you a good basis into the
history
Works Cited

 "The DABDA Theory of Coping With Death." About.com Death and Dying.
N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar.
2014.http://dying.about.com/od/thedyingprocess/a/DABDA.htm.
 "Game Theory: Is Link Dead in Majora's Mask?" YouTube. YouTube, 9 Nov.
2013. Web. 26 May 2014.
 "Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America." Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, 24 May 2014. Web. 26 May 2014.
 "BATMAN: THE JOKER'S LAST LAUGH." DC Comics. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May
2014.
 "Five Stages of Grief." Tvtropes.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.