5 Stages of Grief When Facing a Terminal Diagnosis

Understanding the Kübler-Ross Model

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The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (DABDA). They apply when you are grieving for the death of a loved one as well as when you are facing a terminal diagnosis.

These stages help describe the emotional process when facing these life-changing events. But keep in mind that most people do not experience emotion in a linear pattern, and the responses are unique to each person facing illness, death, or loss.

This article explains the five stages of grief. Although it is only one model, the discussion of DABDA will help you to know and recognize these stages of coping with death.

The 5 stages of coping with death
Verywell / Andrea Hickey

Stages of Grief

The five stages of grief (DABDA) were first described in 1969 by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her classic book, "On Death and Dying." DABDA is an acronym for the five stages identified by Kübler-Ross. The letters stand for:

  • Denial
  • Anger
  • Bargaining
  • Depression
  • Acceptance

This five-stage model is still one of the best-known descriptions of the emotional and psychological responses that people often experience when faced with a life-changing illness or situation.

While Kübler-Ross used the stages to discuss death, they also may apply to other events. A divorce or the loss of a job or home also are deeply-held experiences that evoke grief and similar emotions.

The Coping Process

In her book, Kübler-Ross discusses the theory of coping in a linear fashion, meaning a person moves through one of the stages to reach the next. She later explained that the theory was never meant to be linear nor applied to all persons. People move through the stages in their own unique ways.

The stages are not meant to be complete or chronological, and much research has been done since Kübler-Ross. Not everyone who experiences a life-threatening or life-changing event feels all five of the responses nor will everyone who does experience them do so in the order that is written. Reactions to illness, death, and loss are as unique as the person experiencing them.

It's important to remember that some people will experience all of the stages, some in order and some not, and other people may only experience a few of the stages or even get stuck in one. It's also interesting to note that the way a person has handled adversity in the past will affect how a diagnosis of terminal illness is handled.

For example, someone who has always avoided adversity and used denial to cope with tragedy in the past may get stuck in the denial stage of coping for a long time. Similarly, a person who uses anger to deal with difficult situations may be unable to move out of the anger stage of coping.

Denial

We all want to believe that nothing bad can happen to us. Subconsciously, we might even believe we are immortal.

When a person is given the diagnosis of a terminal illness, it's natural to enter a stage of denial and isolation. They may flat-out disbelieve what the doctor is telling them and seek out second and third opinions.

They may demand a new set of tests, believing the results of the first ones to be false. Some people may even isolate themselves from their doctors and refuse to undergo any further medical treatment for a time.

During denial, it is not uncommon to isolate oneself from family and friends or to actively avoid discussing the trauma or event. It is a self-protective mechanism by which a problem "ceases to exist" if you don't acknowledge it.

This stage of denial is usually short-lived. Soon after entering it, many begin to accept their diagnosis as reality. The patient may come out of isolation and resume medical treatment.

Some people, however, will use denial as a coping mechanism long into their illness and even to their death. Extended denial isn't always a bad thing; it doesn't always bring increased distress.

Sometimes, it's believed that people need to find a way to accept their death to be able to die peacefully. However, this isn't always true.

Anger

As a person accepts the reality of a terminal diagnosis, they may start to ask, "Why me?" The realization that all of their hopes, dreams, and well-laid plans aren't going to come about brings anger and frustration. Unfortunately, this anger is often directed out at the world and at random people.

Anger is the stage where the bottled-up feelings of the previous stages are released in a huge outpouring of grief and directed at anyone who happens to be in the way.

Doctors and nurses are yelled at in the hospital; family members are greeted with little enthusiasm and often face fits of rage. Even strangers aren't immune to the brunt of this emotion.

It is important to understand where this anger is coming from. A dying person may watch TV and see people laughing and dancing—a cruel reminder that he can't walk anymore, let alone dance. 

In the book "On Death and Dying," Kübler-Ross astutely describes this anger: "He will raise his voice, he will make demands, he will complain and ask to be given attention, perhaps as the last loud cry, 'I am alive, don't forget that. You can hear my voice. I am not dead yet!'"

For some people, this stage of coping is short-lived. Again, however, some people will continue in anger for much of the illness. Some will even die angry.

Bargaining

As denial and anger fail to offer any help and don't change the situation, the grieving person may move on to bargaining. Most of us have already tried bargaining at some point in our lives.

Children learn from an early age that getting angry with mom when she says "no" doesn't work, but trying a different approach might. Just like the child, many people with a terminal illness see that the anger won't help so they try to bargain.

Often, this means trying to bargain with God. They may agree to live a good life, help the needy, never lie again, or do any number of "good" things if this higher power will only cure them of their illness.

Other people may bargain with doctors or with the illness itself. They may try to negotiate more time, saying things like, "If I can just live long enough to see my daughter get married..." or "If only I could ride my motorcycle one more time..."

Bargaining is the stage where one clings to an irrational hope even when the facts say otherwise. It may be expressed overtly as panic or manifest with an inner dialogue or prayer unseen by others.

The implied return favor is that they would not ask for anything more if only their wish was granted. People who enter this stage quickly learn that bargaining doesn't work and inevitably move on, usually to the depression stage.

Depression

When it becomes clear that the terminal illness is here to stay, many people experience depression. The increased burden of surgeries, treatments, and physical symptoms of illness, for example, make it difficult for some people to remain angry or to force a stoic smile. Depression, in turn, may creep in.

Kübler-Ross explains that there are really two types of depression in this stage. The first depression, which she called "reactive depression," occurs as a reaction to current and past losses.

For example, a woman who is diagnosed with cervical cancer may first lose her uterus to surgery and her hair to chemotherapy. Her husband is left without help to care for their three children, while she is ill and has to send the children to a family member out of town.

Because cancer treatment was so expensive, this woman and her spouse can't afford their mortgage and need to sell their home. The woman feels a deep sense of loss with each one of these events and slips into depression.

The second type of depression is dubbed "preparatory depression." This is the stage where one has to deal with the impending future loss of everything and everyone they love. Most people will spend this time of grieving in quiet thought as they prepare themselves for such complete loss.

Depression is considered the stage without which acceptance is unlikely. With that being said, one can feel many different losses during the same event. Weeding out those feelings may take time, during which a person may rebound in and out of depression.

Acceptance

The stage of acceptance is where most people would like to be when they die. It is a stage of peaceful resolution that death will occur and quiet expectation of its arrival. If a person is lucky enough to reach this stage, death is often very peaceful.

People who achieve acceptance have typically given themselves permission to express grief, regret, anger, and depression. By doing so, they are able to process their emotions and come to terms with a "new reality."

They may have had time to make amends and say goodbye to loved ones. The person has also had time to grieve the loss of so many important people and things that mean so much to them.

Some people who are diagnosed late in their illness and don't have time to work through these important stages may never experience true acceptance. Others who can't move on from another stage—the person who stays angry at the world until death, for example—may also never experience the peace of acceptance.

For the lucky person who does come to acceptance, the final stage before death is often spent in quiet contemplation as they turn inward to prepare for their final departure.

Summary

People who are facing a terminal diagnosis may go through five stages of grieving originally outlined in 1969 by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her book, "On Death and Dying." These stages are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. However, not everyone who knows their life will be cut short will experience each stage, and not everyone will go through the stages in order. People who end the process with acceptance may feel more prepared for death than people who die while they are still stuck in one of the other stages.

4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Kubler Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. Scribner. 2014.

  2. Huntington's Disease Society of America. Kubler Ross.

  3. Saracino RM, Rosenfeld B, Breitbart W, Chochinov HM. Psychotherapy at the end of lifeThe American Journal of Bioethics. 2019;19(12):19-28. doi: 10.1080/15265161.2019.1674552

  4. Tyrrell P, Harberger S, Siddiqui W. Stages of dying. In: StatPearls. Updated May 16, 2020.

Additional Reading
  • Kübler-Ross, E. On Death and Dying. 1969. New York, NY: Scribner Publishers.

By Angela Morrow, RN
Angela Morrow, RN, BSN, CHPN, is a certified hospice and palliative care nurse.