Any significant change whenever it happens positive or negative comes accompanied by anxiety and fear. Change always feels like dying because you must leave one state and enter other state. This can be felt individually or collectively.
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her book ‘On Death and Dying’ described 5 common emotions that happen to people when they learn of their imminent death. The are dubbed DABDA – Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance.
When someone is diagnosed with a terminal illness the first reaction is denying that it could be true. They even claim that their test results could have been swapped with someone else’s or that somehow they could beat the odds. When it finally dawns on them that denial isn’t changing anything they become angry; angry at the systems, themselves others even angry at God. Soon they learn that this doesn’t take the anywhere and they start bargaining, they may say if I become more kind to people maybe I’ll get better, if I go back to church perhaps I’ll be healed. When this does yield they become depressed, they go to a state of solitude and loneliness. If they come out successful on the other side they exhibit acceptance of their situation. They begin talking freely and speak deep profound insights with those interacting with them. They embrace the end of the battle.
Here’s an analogy of how Kenya’s economy could relate to these stages, metaphorically speaking:
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Denial:
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Economic Context: When facing economic challenges like high inflation rates, unemployment, or currency depreciation, there can be an initial phase where the government, businesses, or the public might deny the severity of the economic downturn. For instance, they might downplay economic indicators or claim the situation is temporary, not requiring structural changes.
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Anger:
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Economic Context: As the reality of economic challenges sets in, there might be widespread frustration and anger among citizens and within political spheres. This could manifest in public protests, criticism of economic policies, or even targeted anger towards specific economic reforms or international bodies perceived as responsible for the economic strain.
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Bargaining:
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Economic Context: In this stage, there might be attempts to negotiate or bargain for better economic conditions. This could include policy reforms by the government to attract foreign investment, negotiations with international financial institutions for better loan terms, or even societal calls for political promises in exchange for economic stability. It’s like bargaining for more time or better conditions to manage or recover from economic distress.
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Depression:
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Economic Context: If the economic situation does not improve or worsens, there might be a phase where the populace feels overwhelmed, leading to a sense of economic depression. This might reflect in reduced consumer spending, business closures, increased unemployment, or a general mood of hopelessness about economic recovery or personal financial stability.
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Acceptance:
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Economic Context: Eventually, there could be acceptance of the economic reality, leading to more pragmatic approaches to recovery or adaptation. This might involve accepting new economic norms, restructuring industries, embracing technological changes for job creation, or accepting aid and reforms with a clear-eyed view of the situation. Acceptance here would mean acknowledging the economic state and working constructively towards sustainable recovery.
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This analogy, while not directly correlating to Kübler-Ross’s model since economic recovery often involves cycles and not necessarily linear progression through stages, provides a framework to understand public and governmental responses to economic crises in terms of human emotional responses to loss or change.
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