The Five Stages of Grief

_{August 30, 2023}
National Grief Awareness Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the myriad ways in which individuals cope with loss. It offers resources to those going through personal losses and reminds us to support people we know who are grieving. National Grief Awareness Day, founded by Angie Cartwright in 2014, hopes to encourage open communication on loss and bereavement and better inform the public on the facts of grief, and Johnstown Pointe is here to help do that.



Five major stages of grief have served as a framework for many mental health professionals working with the grief process.

Denial

Denial represents a difficulty in comprehending the loss – you may think you can pick up the phone and call your loved one, or maybe you imagine they are on vacation and they will be back. It may take a while to realize you have experienced a profound loss.

Anger

Being angry is completely natural. It is at this time a lot of people blame the death on themselves, the doctors, or someone else. At this stage, they are always looking for someone else to blame and are angry about the loss.

Bargaining

Oftentimes this is the next stage where we try to bargain our way out of it by talking to God and asking, "If you do this for me, I will do this for you." Sometimes this stage can occur before the loss.

Depression

It is very common to be sad after a loss. The symptoms that follow depression can include loss of hope for the future, feeling lost and confused about where to go from here, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty making decisions.

Acceptance

And finally, acceptance is the last stage. The feelings of loss may never fade or completely leave you, but know that there is hope.

There is no set timeline for grief. Everyone reacts differently and copes with grief in their own time. If you are feeling extreme grief, just know that there are therapists and others out there who can help you. Don’t be ashamed to talk to someone and ask for help.

For more information on the stages of grief, click the button below to visit the Healthline.

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