Students attending Utah's Provo Canyon School, a licensed residential psychiatric treatment facility, receive support in many different ways. For example, Provo Canyon School provides students as well as caregivers information on the five stages of grief.
Both children and adults deal with grief in similar ways. The exact response an individual has to the death of a loved one or the end of a serious relationship can vary, but grief generally follows a five-stage pattern. The first stage is denial. The essence of denial is disbelief regarding the event in question. This disbelief can manifest itself as avoidance or isolation, as well as outright negation.
Anger often follows the denial stage. Once an individual has completely or partially moved past denial, he or she often seeks to blame the loss on another person or a related event. In the third stage of grieving, anger gives way to bargaining. While bargaining can also involve shifting blame for the loss, it also emphasizes a desire to relive the past and, regardless of how realistic or unrealistic the attempt might be, to change the events that led to the loss.
The penultimate stage of grief is sadness and depression. Once an individual runs out of places to place blame for the loss, a feeling of hopelessness sets in. Again, it should be noted that depression can strike different people in different ways, ranging from crying episodes to complete social withdrawal. Finally comes the fifth and final stage of grief, acceptance. Individuals who accept their loss can still feel angry and sad, but the emotions lessen in intensity and become a manageable part of daily life.
Both children and adults deal with grief in similar ways. The exact response an individual has to the death of a loved one or the end of a serious relationship can vary, but grief generally follows a five-stage pattern. The first stage is denial. The essence of denial is disbelief regarding the event in question. This disbelief can manifest itself as avoidance or isolation, as well as outright negation.
Anger often follows the denial stage. Once an individual has completely or partially moved past denial, he or she often seeks to blame the loss on another person or a related event. In the third stage of grieving, anger gives way to bargaining. While bargaining can also involve shifting blame for the loss, it also emphasizes a desire to relive the past and, regardless of how realistic or unrealistic the attempt might be, to change the events that led to the loss.
The penultimate stage of grief is sadness and depression. Once an individual runs out of places to place blame for the loss, a feeling of hopelessness sets in. Again, it should be noted that depression can strike different people in different ways, ranging from crying episodes to complete social withdrawal. Finally comes the fifth and final stage of grief, acceptance. Individuals who accept their loss can still feel angry and sad, but the emotions lessen in intensity and become a manageable part of daily life.