Transition

The 5 Stages of Grief come to us from Elisabeth Kubler Ross, who wrote the book, On Death and Dying.

They seem to apply to many of life's transitions, even losing a job. My program has been de-funded. What a depressing word, sounds like defunct. And I feel like an unemployed person pretending to be employed. There is much to be done before the doors are locked. I mean, the schools are still in session, and we are all stationed at a middle or high school.

Most of us are probably still at level 1, since we are still working.

The first stage of grieving is "DENIAL"-you think this cannot be happening and you act like it hasn't happened. You just don't believe it.
The second stage of grieving is "ANGER" and the question frequently asked is "why me?" You feel angry, frustrated and resentful.
The third stage of grieving is "BARGAINING" which can include begging, wishing and praying for the person (or job) to come back or not to leave.
The fourth stage of grieving is "DEPRESSION" and having feelings of hopelessness, frustration, sadness as well as dreams and plans for a new future, but even also possibly feeling suicidal.
The fifth stage of grieving is "ACCEPTANCE" which is a time that you realize the person (or job) is gone, you look for the good that can come out of the pain of loss and your goals turn to personal growth.
The good news about grieving is that there is an end to the intense emotions, and when you get to the end stage, you feel okay, you have fond memories of the person (or job) you lost, and you can see that in some ways your life has improved and you have benefitted from the experience.

The important to remember is that these are not distinct stages. Denial always seems to be first, but you can feel this and several other of the emotions associatied with the other stages at different times during the same day. And they do not always go in order. You can go back and forth many times before actually ending up at acceptance.

I have experienced four of the stages already. I tend to revisit the stage of anger most often, though. I guess I will have to do more self-hypnosis to bring myself up to the conclusion. But I need to have some definite employment plans before I come to peacefully accept the situation.