What Are The Five Stages Of Grief? 

There are no handbooks on how to heal during the stages of grief. But understanding its concepts and how it works can help when grieving. 

This article discusses the five stages of grief, how it affects us as a person, and what can we do to overcome one. It is best to be shared with anyone you know suffering significant problems. Feel free to share this article. 

What are the stages of grief? 

Fifty years ago, experts noticed a pattern when someone experiences grief. They came up with 5 stages of grief: denial, isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. 

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a Swiss American physicist, was one of the experts studying the pattern of grieving. It was later on named as “Kübler-Ross model.” The model identified the five most common stages of emotional reaction to grief in her 1969 book entitled “On Death and Dying.” 

Did you know? 

The first name of the stages of grief was “stages of death.” This was because, during their study, their patients were terminally ill. 

The 5 stages of grief 

The first stages of grief: Denial 

The first stage of grieving is denial. When we experience sudden loss from the death of a loved one, the first course of action that we take is to reject the idea or totally disregard the situation. We think that by building up walls, we are protecting ourselves. But this defense mechanism is only temporary. 

We deny the scenario, even the news or confirmation. We continue to live our made-up happy and bubbly life, thinking that the person we love is still out there, alive and kicking. But the truth is, they are gone, forever. 

It is understandable to go through these grief stages, especially when the death happens all too fast, within a glimpse of the eye. The pain occurred so instantly that you had no time to process or let everything sink in. 

Surprisingly, after the news has broken out, the first thing that saves us is our denial. It is what pushes us to keep going because we are held inside our preferred bubble. 

Anger 

Once we are done with the denial stage, the second part of the 5 stages of grief is anger. During this time, we become frustrated and end up being angry. We might ask questions like “Of all people, why me?” or “What did I do to deserve this?” In worse cases, we may be even questioning God.

Anger is part of the grief stages. It is a natural response from a person. In most life lessons, we are often told that it is best to control our anger. But during this stage of grieving, letting out what you feel means accepting what happened and moving forward. 

Bargaining 

Grief and loss stages go hand-in-hand. If you lose your husband, grief comes, and next is bargaining. 

Bargaining is an act of negotiating with another party. These are mostly transactional and beneficial. Bargaining also applies in the 5 stages of grief. 

“God, if you make my husband better, I will attend Sunday churches!” or “God, if you heal my wife, I will stop seeing my mistress!” These are the common negotiation terms between a person and a higher force. But you are just hoping for nothing. 

You think by giving out something good, another aspect of your life will get better. That is not the case. People experience bargaining to have a sense of control over their lives. 

Depression 

Imagine losing your child? The sadness is exceptional; it is like nothing could ever make you feel whole again. The stages of grief after losing a child is depression. Depression represents our state after losing someone and living in reality. People often feel empty, drained, or constant sadness. 

The effect of depression is the lack of will to live. You start to lose energy on the things that you did before. You are not passionate enough about the things you love. You are at the edge of ending your life. 

“What’s the point of living?” This is the typical mindset of a depressed person. It is normal to be at this stage. But remember that you are not alone. Impact Vision, your family, is here to talk and help you through. 

The last stages of grief: Acceptance 

What ends the 5 grief stages is acceptance. During the acceptance stage, you are embracing a new life without the persons you have lost. It is not like you are fine with them dying but you are beginning to hope in life. 

Accepting reality will take time; it is a long process. There will be good and bad days. But at this stage, you are growing, you are healing, you are moving forward. 

Heal with Impact Vision 

We understand how it feels to lose someone we really care about. Your friends and family at Impact Vision have some personal experiences on this. We can relate to you. 

Join us as we heal together and welcome a new chapter in our lives. 

Overcome the stage of grieving today! 

Let us help you deal with the stages of grief. Impact Vision offers a wide range of counseling services from emotion management, life coaching, and spiritual growth counseling. This can be done at your convenience, either in our offices, via video conference, or phone call. 

Heal with Impact Vision! 

Impact Family is a Christian Counseling Nonprofit Organization located in Pembroke Pines, Florida, a few miles north of Miami. As a Christ-Centered, Bible-Based, Non-Denominational Ministry, we believe God in His Grace wants to forgive, heal, and bless us more than we want it for ourselves. Our team of Christian counselors is ready to assist you. Book an online appointment today!