Tuesdays with MorrieA Review of Death & Dying

Brittany PlattEnglish 9

Ms. Susany

Stages of Death & Dying Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Swiss/American Psychiatrist

Published her research as a book

Stages of Death & DyingDenial

Anger

Bargaining

Depression

Acceptance

Denial“Not Me”

The person does not believe that this situation is happening to them.

Anger“Why Me”

The person is upset that this is happening to them

Bargaining“…But first let me”

The person bargains with God for more time

Depression“Woe is me”

Sadness and despair about dying

AcceptanceI am OK

The person accepts that this is happeningDoes not mean they are happy about dying

Examples from the Book

Denial“My old professor was stunned by the normalcy of the day around him. Shouldn’t the world stop? Don’t they know what happened to me? But the world did not stop, it took no notice at all, and as Morrie pulled weakly on the car door, he felt as if he were dropping into a hole.

Now what? He thought.”

Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 8

Denial"Everyone knows they’re going to die... but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently….”

Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 80

Anger“At the same time, I had my first serious encounter with death. My favorite uncle, my mother’s brother, the man who had taught me music, taught me to drive, teased me about girls, thrown me a football—that one adult whom I targeted as a child and said, “That’s who I want to be when I grow up”—died of pancreatic cancer at the age of forty-four. He was a short, handsome man with a thick mustache, and I was with him for the last year of his life, living in an apartment just below his. I watched his strong body wither, then bloat, saw him suffer, night after night, doubled over at the dinner table, pressing on his stomach, his eyes shut, his mouth contorted in pain. “Ahhhhh, God,” he would moan. “Ahhhhhh, Jesus!” The rest of us—my aunt, his two young sons, me—stood there, silently, cleaning the plates, averting our eyes. It was the most helpless I have ever felt in my life. One night in May, my uncle and I sat on the balcony of his apartment. It was breezy and warm. He looked out toward the horizon and said, through gritted teeth, that he wouldn’t be around to see his kids into the next school year. He asked if I would look after them. I told him not to talk that way. He stared at me sadly. He died a few weeks later.”

Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 17

Bargaining“In the last segment of the interview, Morrie divulges that he has been "bargaining with Him up there," the first time Mitch has heard him admit that he talks to God.”

Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 163

DepressionHis voice choked. “Mitch … a few years ago … he died of cancer. I feel so sad. I never got to see him. I never got to forgive. It pains me now so much …” He was crying again, a soft and quiet cry, and because his head was back, the tears rolled off the side of his face before they reached his lips. Sorry, I said. “Don’t be,” he whispered. “Tears are okay.” I continued rubbing lotion into his lifeless toes. He wept for a few minutes, alone with his memories. “It’s not just other people we need to forgive, Mitch,” he finally whispered. We also need to forgive ourselves.”

Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 166

Acceptance“When all this started, I asked myself, ‘Am I going to withdraw from the world, like most people do, or am I going to live?’

I decided I’m going to live – or at least try to live – the way I want, with dignity, with courage, with humor, with composure.

There are some mornings when I cry and cry and mourn for myself. Some mornings, I’m so angry and bitter. But it doesn’t last too long. Then I get up and say, ‘I want to live..’ So far, I’ve been able to do it. Will I be able to continue? I don’t know. But I’m betting on myself that I will.”

Tuesdays with Morrie, p. 21

AcceptanceI leaned in and kissed him closely, my face against his, whiskers on whiskers, skin on skin, holding it there longer than normal, in case it gave him even a split second of pleasure.

Tuesdays with Morrie, pp. 185-186

Websites for GraphicsSlide 2 –

http://acelebrationofwomen.org/2012/11/elisabeth-kubler-ross-loss-grief-and-bereavement/

Slide 3 -

http://us.cdn4.123rf.com/168nwm/pixelsaway/pixelsaway1009/pixelsaway100900033/7765882-the-5-stages-of-grief-denial-anger-bargaining-depression-acceptance--concept-explained-with-white-ch.jpg

Slide 4 - http://possiblyhelpfuladvice.com/?p=4839

http://qbq.com/outstanding-organizations-no-denial-allowed/

http://www.georgeambler.com/10-signs-of-a-leader-in-denial/

Slide 5

http://www.selfgrowthwithin.com/adopting-anger-management-skills-that-work/

http://www.modernmeditation.ca/how-to-control-anger/

http://eatourbrains.com/EoB/2007/11/08/anger-management/

Slide 6

http://aheartforthehome.com/5-ways-organize-prayer-time/

http://peeledandcored.blogspot.com/2012/10/if-i-just-then-maybe-bargaining.html

Slide 7

http://guardianlv.com/2013/09/can-religion-and-spirituality-cause-depression/

http://www.carroll.edu/students/wellness/counseling/depression.cc

http://www.managing-depression.com

Slide 8

http://mycounselor.org/?p=73

Slide 9

http://mitchalbom.com/d/bio/3720/inspiration-morrie-schwartz

Slide 13

http://mitchalbom.com/d/bio/3720/inspiration-morrie-schwartz

Slide 14

http://www.brandeis.edu/now/2012/june/morrie.html

Slide 15

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15627680