At some point in our education about death and grief, we may have heard of the five stages of grieving. As a society we have mistakenly developed a view of the bereavement experience as a sort of numbered pathway that has a distinct beginning and end. However, bereavement professionals have pointed out our flawed application over time. What are these five stages of grief?
Grief 101
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The five stages of grief were introduced by Swiss psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in On Death and Dying (1969). They are:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
The stages have been largely misunderstood as a strict order of emotions through which grievers pass after experiencing a loss. Rather than passing through a progressive sequence of emotions in response to grief, the five stages represent the most common emotions people experience throughout grief.
Grief is not a five-step process that ends once you reach acceptance. The stages Kubler-Ross observed in her work with the terminally ill patients are a rough guide to the varied and complex journey that is grief. Many people experience all of the stages in some form. Others experience some, but not all. Grief is a unique experience, tailor made to each griever.
Grief 101 will explore the meaning of each “stage” in the forthcoming series of posts.
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A.N.Carroll 
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