7.29.2003

Hope is Dead

The recent death of Hope... that is, Bob --you know, the entertainer-- has led me to reflect on the nature of grief. Not that I was particularly attached to the celebrity or anything. I mean, I thought he died a long time ago. But I was disappointed that I didn't hear anyone make an obvious joke out of the headline.

Anyway, here is my own construal of the "Five Stages of Grief":

shock / denial
anxiety / panic
hostility / anger
guilt / humiliation
depression / despair

Of course, these "stages" may be experienced as overlapping, often accompanied by a general confusion, and may persist indefinitely.

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