Question

Which is a basic problem with adopting a "stage model of death"?

Question options:

	a) It ignores the fact that stages occur at different rates.
	b) It ignores the fact some people die more quickly than others.
	c) It allows other people to distance themselves emotionally from dying loved ones.
	d) It gets people too emotionally involved with dying loved ones.

Which emotion is MOST characteristic of early bereavement?

Question options:

	a) getting upset on special occasions
	b) focusing on the loved one's final days and hours
	c) feeling distant from other family members
	d) feeling angry at the person who died

Answer 1

1) C

2)b

Shock is a normal response to overwhelming sorrow. Sometimes it lasts only a few minutes, but often it goes on for hours and even days. It brings a feeling of numbness, of being stunned, a shutting-down of usual feeling and thinking. This numbness is protective, a 'blessed anesthesia', that allows time to accept painful reality. Shock keeps you numb until you are ready to move on. Shock and numbness are your introduction to grief.