The 5 Stages of Grief

Understanding Our Time in Quarantine

Each stage of the 5 stages are part of a framework that makes up our learning to live with what we lost. We may even feel that these losses are “taken” from us. When we lose “something” it can feel different from person to person. Some of us lose family members when they die, some of us lose our favorite toys, and some of us may have lost out on events or experiences that we looked forward to. When we understand the stages of grief, we can use them as tools to help us identify what we may be feeling. These stages do not often happen in a linear order.

The 5 stages are as follows:

1. Denial, noun, the action of declaring something to be untrue. "she shook her head in denial"

2. Anger, noun, a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility. "the colonel's anger at his daughter's disobedience"

3. Bargaining, verb, negotiate the terms and conditions of a transaction. "he bargained with his mom to go outside to play"

4. Depression, noun, feelings of severe disappointment and sadness."not knowing what comes next has turned into feelings of sadness and depression"

5. Acceptance, noun, acceptance, the action or process of being received as adequate or suitable. "you must wait for acceptance into the college."