Five Stages of Grief

The Five Stages of Grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) is a famed and widely accepted model of grieving developed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.  The Kübler-Ross stage of grief outlines the main periods that aggrieved individuals endure during periods of mourning, but it also allowed for variations due to the fact that everyone feels grief differently.

Denial (Stages of Grief)

Denial is the stage of grief in which an individual either chooses to deny the existence of the condition causing their grief, or insists on denying that their grief is effecting them.  It is usually a temporary condition that is soon followed by more severe stages of mourning. 

Anger (Stages of Grief)

Anger is the stage of griefs where the aggrieved becomes irritated and envious of those that do not share their pain.  They become angry because of what they perceive is a lack of fairness toward them in comparison to others, and they may become prone to rage and jealously. 

Bargaining (Stages of Grief)

In the "bargaining" stage of grief, the aggrieved individual tries to mentally postpone confronting their sorrow or attempts pleading with a higher power to stave off the affliction causing their grief (such as a terminal illness) in an effort to gain added time.

Depression (Stages of Grief)

Depression is perhaps the most paralyzing and agonizing of the five stage model for the aggrieved.  During this stage, the individual feels an overwhelming and paralyzing feeling of sadness that they find difficult to reconcile, and thus they will become sorrowful, withdrawn, and overall indifferent to their fate and their life.

Acceptance (Stages of Grief)

Acceptance is the final stage of the Kübler-Ross model, in which the aggrieved comes to accept their grief and reconciles it with their present state.  In many, respects, it is the moment where one transcends their grief, but in some cases, it remains a state that may remain only temporary before regressing to one of the earlier stages.