Elisabeth Kubler Ross Control and Reducing Home Contents

Part of the concept of being good stewards of stuff is understanding the flow of objects through one's life.  The Kubler Ross model is helpful in identifying the thought relationships we can carry in our mind with the objects that flow through our lives.

Elisabeth Kubler Ross was a Swiss American Psychiatrist, respected researcher in near death studies, and a book author.  Born 7/8/1926 and deceased 8/24/2004, a professional with the University of Chicago.  Known for the Kubler Ross Model she understood greif was not just a part of the human to human relationship.  Persons have significant realtionships with material things.

Underlying all the change and flow that we as humans call life is the concept of control.  Persons inherently act in ways that seem to maintain a perception of control.  This is easily recognized by the device called the perceptive lag.  The perceptive lag involves 4 steps that are taken prior to an individual having knowledge of an experience. 

                                                                                           
 (PAST)  actual physical occurance-  senses perceive-  mind comprehends-
      person has some knowing (NOW)

As humans we have been taught to believe that the time you know of something is the time of actual occurance and as shown above the two are not the same.   By the time you know about something it has typically occurred due to the connection between senses and mind.  One can see that taking action at the point of knowing will not change what has already occurred in a perceived experience.

Elisabeth Kubler Ross listed the five stages of greif one can experience with a perceived sense of loss.  Understand that people have been known to greive the loss of a body wart, an employment situation, a house location, and the contents of a residence.

1. Denial-  I am fine, doesn't bother me.
2. Anger- Why me, someone is to blame for this.
3. Bargaining- I can be better, I can do more.
4. Depression- I am so sad, I cannot continue
5. Acceptance- I'll be ok, things will work out for the best

With the process of down sizing a home of its contents the above stages can show in a persons thoughts and actions throughout the day.  The stages do not have to occur in a particular order.  Having a conscious idea of how the movement of your stuff to another residence will effect you can be a helpful part of the down sizing process. 

Home Care Path http://www.homecarepath.com/Pages/ReducingHomeContentsWhenStuffMatters.aspx

incorporates the above training in to the down sizing process. 

Home Care Path www.homecarepath.com is a leading senior care provider serving south central Wisconsin.  Services include:
-in home staffing with help for ADL's and IADL's
-inpatient advocacy for safe successful hospital stays
-transitional counseling when a more structured service is needed
-temporary help with a scheduled day surgery
-down sizing home contents when stuff matters
-communicate face to face on the computer across long distances
Simply call 608-432-4286 to schedule an in home interview.  2012 rates are 20.00 per hour.  We can be there when you are working.  Email lkutzke@homecarepath.onmicrosoft.com Services are tax deductible.  We accept long term care insurance.