The Sociology Of Death And The Stages Of Dying -By Hassan Idris

If you’ll go through many of the works of Psychologists and Sociologists, you’ll be surprised to what you’ll come across and learn. Learning they said, never ends. I have had discussions with some of my friends that in the discipline of Sociology and Anthroplogy, you’ll see diverse Sub-fields that you wouldn’t have expected to find in the field of Sociology and Anthroplogy. As a Student and from my little understanding, I have known that in the natural sciences, especially Physics, Chemistry, Mechanics, we can find sub-fields like Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Physics etc. However, from my recent research, I came to realise that there was also a Sub-field known as Quantum Anthropology from the social sciences that studies man, culture, origin of life and many more from a Quantum perspective. Thenceforth, Sociology is a very wide field beyond our thinking. From among its sub-fields are Sociology of Ageing, Sociology of Law, Sociology of Death, Social Psychology, Criminology, Medical Sociology, etc.

Today, I’m going to focus and discuss on one of the work of an American Psychologist, Elizabeth Kublerose. Kublerose studied some dying patients who were suffering from some kind of illness and the process that these dying patients followed in dying, and she came to the conclusion that there are five stages of dying. And this five stages of dying I will list and discuss one after the other.

1 DENIAL
2 ANGER
3 BARGAINING
4 DEPRESSION
5 ACCEPTANCE

(DENIAL & ISOLATION)
This is the first stage of dying and in this stage, the dying person denies that death is really going to take place. This reaction is commonly associated with any kind of terminal illness. However, denial is usually only a temporary defence and is eventually replaced with increased awareness when the person is confronted with such matters as financial considerations, unfinished business and worry about surviving family members.

(ANGER)
This is the second stage of dying and in this stage, the dying person realises that denial can no longer be maintained, and very often, feelings of anger, resentment, rage and envy follow. In this stage, the dying person wonders “why” he has to die. It can be difficult to care for a person in this stage since the anger can be displaced and projected onto the nurses, social worker, doctor, family member, etc. or even God. The realisation of loss becomes great, and those who symbolise life, energy, and competent functioning are especially salient targets of the dying person’s resentment and jealousy
.
(BARGAINING)
This is the third stage of dying and in this stage, the dying person develops the hope that death can somehow be postponed or delayed. Some persons enter into a bargaining or negotiation – often with God – as they try to delay their death. Psychologically the person is saying “Yes me, but…”. In exchange for a few more days, weeks, or months of life, the person promises to lead a reformed life dedicated to God or to the service of others.

(DEPRESSION)
This stage is the fourth stage of dying, in this stage, the dying person comes to accept the certainty of death. This can be evident in several ways. The dying person may become silent, may refuse visitors, and may spend much of the time crying or grieving. This behaviour should be perceived as normal in these circumstances and is actually an effort to disconnect the self from all love objects. Efforts to cheer up the dying person at this stage should be discouraged, because the dying person has a need to contemplate impending death.

(ACCEPTANCE)
This is the fifth and final stage of dying and in this stage, the dying person develops a sense of peace; an acceptance of one’s fate; and, in many cases, a desire to be left alone. In this stage, feelings and physical pain may be virtually absent. Kübler-Ross sees this stage as the end of the dying struggle, the final resting stage before death. In the Nigerian context, this is where you find the dying person giving out his properties and wills; and this is where sometimes, the dying person tells his family he needs more grandchildren and sometimes you find him/ her digging his grave and telling his family members that he/ she dies, that’s where they should bury him or her.

Conclusively, note that with all these stages, and analysis of death, kublerose isn’t free from criticisms as there are situations where most dying patients don’t follow those stages explained by her and they are people who die by accident and some by natural death. Her postulation isn’t enough to justify the topic of death as death is a very wide and critical topic of discussion over the years.