What is the correct sequence of the Five Stages of Grief according to Kubler-Ross?

What is the correct sequence of the Five Stages of Grief according to Kubler-Ross?

• A. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Grief
• B. Shock, Denial, Anger, Depression, Acceptance
• C. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance
• D. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Grief

Answer: (C)

The sequence reflects the stages Elisabeth Kübler-Ross described as responses to impending loss or death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Denial acts as a shield that helps a person pause and begin to take in the reality of what’s happening. Anger comes as emotions surface and a sense of unfairness or frustration appears. Bargaining is the attempt to regain control or postpone the loss by making deals, often with a higher power or fate. Depression arrives as the reality sinks in and the weight of the loss is felt deeply. Acceptance doesn’t mean happiness about the loss; it means recognizing the reality and beginning to move forward with life in a new way. Other sequences mix in terms like “shock” or use “grief” as a stage, which aren’t part of Kübler-Ross’s five-stage model, so those options don’t align with the standard progression.

The sequence reflects the stages Elisabeth Kübler-Ross described as responses to impending loss or death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Denial acts as a shield that helps a person pause and begin to take in the reality of what’s happening. Anger comes as emotions surface and a sense of unfairness or frustration appears. Bargaining is the attempt to regain control or postpone the loss by making deals, often with a higher power or fate. Depression arrives as the reality sinks in and the weight of the loss is felt deeply. Acceptance doesn’t mean happiness about the loss; it means recognizing the reality and beginning to move forward with life in a new way.

Other sequences mix in terms like “shock” or use “grief” as a stage, which aren’t part of Kübler-Ross’s five-stage model, so those options don’t align with the standard progression.