Change as Loss

When people view change as loss, they must actually go through a grief process in order to effectively make the change. There are five stages in the grief cycle as identified in the work of Kubler-Ross in 1969.

When people face the loss (or change) of something which they hold to be dear they tend to react in a predictable series of ways as suggested by Kubler Ross which is termed the "Grief Cycle":

From Kubler-Ross, E (1973)
On Death & Dying, Routledge, London

The first stage is shock and denial. In this stage, people are numb and often deny that a change has even occurred. They blame others and do not recognize the need to make decisions.

Once shock wears off, people enter a stage of anger, frustration, and anxiety. So much energy is placed in negative emotions at this stage that there is no energy to make critical decisions. This is an important part of the grief process, but how the negative emotions are played out should be watched carefully.

The next stage is depression. At this stage, individuals experience an overwhelming sense of "the blues" and a lack of energy. Because of the energy spent in negative emotion in the previous stage, there is no energy at this time to make decisions for oneself. This is a stage where individuals need the help of family and friends.