Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross was a famous female psychiatrist that lectured on the emotional rollercoaster of death and dying.

• Shock stage: Initial paralysis at hearing the bad news.

• Denial stage: Trying to avoid the inevitable.

• Anger stage: Frustrated outpouring of bottled-up emotion.

• Bargaining stage: Seeking in vain for a way out.

• Depression stage: Final realization of the inevitable.

• Testing stage: Seeking realistic solutions.

• Acceptance stage: Finally finding the way forward.

She and her stages have been on my mind for a little while. I keep trying to remember what they each were. These are the stages those with terminal diseases go through, and anyone who has have to deal with someone else's death. You get thru them all and eventually move on.
People with chronic deases go through them as well. Unfortunately, we do not move on. Unlike cancer patients, those with MS do not die after the diagnosis is positive. Nor do they recover. MS is what it is, and you go through the same stages as anyone else having recieved such a terrible diagnosis. Yes, MS will not kill you, but there are times you almost wish it would. That usually goes with the depression and anger stages.
I've gone through my stages, once. But with MS, since you live through it and then continue to live with it, it never fully goes away. You have to deal with these stages over and over and over. I generally live in the acceptance stage now, but there are moments, fleating moments that I have to go through the others again. There is no escape from it once you are diagnosed. It's a slow death sentence, with plenty of time to think and rethink it over. Like I said, after acceptance you usually forget about it, but there are reminders that come up and have to be dealt with. Each time I have to go through the emotions again.