What are the Stages of Grief?

I want to take a moment today and remind you about the seven stages of grief. Remember, they do not go in a linear order.  Those stages are: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and then acceptance. 

Perhaps you might go from shock to anger to depression to denial. It doesn't go in any specific order. But it doesn't also mean that you clear one step and don't necessarily come back to it​, to process it fully at another time, or several times. 

For example, you may believe you have moved completely out of anger into acceptance. And then all of a sudden, something comes up that triggers you, and that puts you back in anger. That is normal. That is just the process of grief.

​I always like to think of them as steps, because where we are heading with grief isn't back to where we were.  Instead, we are headed to a new normal.  And sometimes on that staircase of grief, we stop and sit down on a step for a time, and catch our breath, before we can restart the journey.  

I​f you can't get off of one step, (remember there isn't a timeline) and catch your breath you might need help.  Someone to show you ways to release anger for example, or give you that permission slip to yell.  

Or with depression, you may need something medical to help you sleep, for example, because a full night of sleep allows your brain to reset and heal at night.  That doesn't mean you have to take something forever but could need a little help to get through the hardest and lowest time of that step to acceptance and the new normal.  

​As a reminder with grief if you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, you can call 911 for an immediate emergency, or call or text 988 to talk to someone about the next steps and resources.  

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