Healthy Grief Essay Example
Healthy Grief
Grand Canyon University: HLT-310V
Healthy Grief Grief is a process that most everyone will go through at some point in his life. A person who is experiencing grief may have suffered loss of a loved one, loss of a job, or diagnosis of a terminal illness. The five stages of grief as described by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in 1969 have helped in defining the steps one may go through after experiencing a loss. Every person has his own response to grief, so he may not go through every stage. This paper will examine the story of Job from the Bible and will compare his grieving process to that as defined by Kubler-Ross. The grieving process of the Jewish believer will also be discussed as well as this author’s thoughts on grief.
The story of Job The story of Job is one of a wealthy man who experiences the loss of family, his possessions, and his health. After a confrontation between God and Satan, Satan set out to prove that Job would curse God rather than fear Him if he were put through situations which would cause grief. So, it is Satan who causes Job’s family to be killed, his crops to be burned, and his health to be threatened. Throughout the story of Job, the five stages of grief set by Kubler-Ross can be seen. The first stage in the grieving process is denial, which helps us cope and makes surviving possible. A person may wonder how life will go on and may be in a state of shock. This is the beginning of the healing process (Kessler, 2012). Job’s first reaction could be considered denial when he says, “The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away (Life Application, Job 1:21)”. The second stage is anger. Anger is a natural feeling, located underneath all of the pain that is experienced. Anger may be extended to many different people such as friends, family, and doctors, but will gradually fade over time. Often anger surfaces before pain (Kessler, 2012). Job’s anger may be seen in Job chapter seven, as Job speaks to God about his
Grand Canyon University: HLT-310V
Healthy Grief Grief is a process that most everyone will go through at some point in his life. A person who is experiencing grief may have suffered loss of a loved one, loss of a job, or diagnosis of a terminal illness. The five stages of grief as described by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in 1969 have helped in defining the steps one may go through after experiencing a loss. Every person has his own response to grief, so he may not go through every stage. This paper will examine the story of Job from the Bible and will compare his grieving process to that as defined by Kubler-Ross. The grieving process of the Jewish believer will also be discussed as well as this author’s thoughts on grief.
The story of Job The story of Job is one of a wealthy man who experiences the loss of family, his possessions, and his health. After a confrontation between God and Satan, Satan set out to prove that Job would curse God rather than fear Him if he were put through situations which would cause grief. So, it is Satan who causes Job’s family to be killed, his crops to be burned, and his health to be threatened. Throughout the story of Job, the five stages of grief set by Kubler-Ross can be seen. The first stage in the grieving process is denial, which helps us cope and makes surviving possible. A person may wonder how life will go on and may be in a state of shock. This is the beginning of the healing process (Kessler, 2012). Job’s first reaction could be considered denial when he says, “The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away (Life Application, Job 1:21)”. The second stage is anger. Anger is a natural feeling, located underneath all of the pain that is experienced. Anger may be extended to many different people such as friends, family, and doctors, but will gradually fade over time. Often anger surfaces before pain (Kessler, 2012). Job’s anger may be seen in Job chapter seven, as Job speaks to God about his