Fundamentals of Nursing Q 300
Trying questionable and experimental forms of therapy is a behavior that is characterized by which stage of dying?
A. Anger
B. Depression
C. Bargaining
D. Acceptance
Correct Answer: C. Bargaining
This is the step in the grieving process where one may think “If this __, then this__.” For example: “I will do anything if you take the hurt away” or “I will never sin again if my loved one will be spared.” Bargaining may come in the form of “what if” statements. For example, “What if we found the cancer sooner?” or “What if this accident never happened?” These “what ifs” are a way to negotiate the fact that an individual wants life to go back to how it once was.
Option A: Anger is a necessary stage of the healing process. Before the anger stage, an individual who is experiencing grief may feel like they have been abandoned or may feel no connection to anything. Experiencing anger allows for a connection; it allows for something to hold on to. Anger may be directed at the thing or person that was lost, the doctors, friends, family, God, etc.
Option B: After the thoughts of the past in bargaining, thoughts of the present flood in. They realize that the situation is real. Empty feelings come forward, and one’s grief moves in on a deeper level than before. This type of depression is not a sign of mental illness; although, reaching out for help may be the right step. It is an appropriate response to a great loss.
Option D: Acceptance does not have to mean one is “alright with what has happened.” An individual may never be the same as before after a loss. They may never feel “OK” about the loss. Acceptance, as a stage, is about accepting that this is their new reality, and it is permanent. Life cannot go on as it once did, but through acceptance, life can and will go on.