A client with an incurable terminal disease states 'If I adjust my work schedule, eat better and exercise more, I will be able to reverse the disease process and become disease-free'. The practical nurse recognizes that this client is exhibiting which stage of grief as described by Kubler-Ross?

A client with an incurable terminal disease states 'If I adjust my work schedule, eat better and exercise more, I will be able to reverse the disease process and become disease-free'. The practical nurse recognizes that this client is exhibiting which stage of grief as described by Kubler-Ross?

• A. Bargaining
• B. Denial
• C. Anger
• D. Depression

Answer: (B)

Bargaining is the stage of grief in which a person attempts to negotiate with fate or a higher power, hoping to postpone or reverse the outcome through changes in behavior or promises. In this scenario, the client says that by adjusting work schedules, eating better, and exercising more, they will reverse the disease and become disease-free. That mindset shows a desire to strike a deal with reality—believing that personal actions can alter an incurable course. This reflects bargaining, where the person holds onto the hope that time or effort can produce a different result. This isn’t denial, which would involve rejecting the reality of the illness or its seriousness; nor is it anger or depression, which involve different emotional responses like frustration, resentment, or deep sadness.

Bargaining is the stage of grief in which a person attempts to negotiate with fate or a higher power, hoping to postpone or reverse the outcome through changes in behavior or promises.

In this scenario, the client says that by adjusting work schedules, eating better, and exercising more, they will reverse the disease and become disease-free. That mindset shows a desire to strike a deal with reality—believing that personal actions can alter an incurable course. This reflects bargaining, where the person holds onto the hope that time or effort can produce a different result.

This isn’t denial, which would involve rejecting the reality of the illness or its seriousness; nor is it anger or depression, which involve different emotional responses like frustration, resentment, or deep sadness.