Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, the psychiatrist who developed and explained the five stages of grief, was born in Switzerland and published her groundbreaking book, "On Death and Dying" in 1969, according to the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Foundation. The five stages of grief are a widely used road map for the grief process, endorsed by therapists around the globe. Understanding Kubler-Ross' model of grief can help you gauge where you are in the grief process and know what to expect throughout the process.
Denial
Denial, the first step in the Kubler-Ross stages of grief, is often the most vehement. It can occur upon receiving the news of a loved one's sickness and imminent demise or immediately upon hearing the news of a death. You may react to the news with disbelief and feel numb and upset. Even more, you may think that by not believing the news, it hasn't really happened. Help Guide notes that denial may also cause you to believe that your loved one is still alive, even when he's gone.
Anger
Anger is often associated with blame in the Kubler-Ross model of grief. Anger is often directed at the person or persons you believe to be responsible for the death of your loved one---for example, a careless driver or the medical professionals working with her. You might even feel anger toward yourself for not doing more or anger at your loved one for dying and leaving you. The anger stage is a normal part of the stages of grief.
Bargaining
Bargaining is the next natural step of the grief process, which begins when you start to come to terms with the death. As you realize that your loved one is not coming back, you begin to bargain with yourself or with a higher power. You promise that you'll be a better person if your loved one can come back, or you promise yourself that you'll do more if the pain will go away. Mental Help notes that this stage is most often accompanied by promises of a significant life change in exchange for less pain.
Depression
As your efforts for bargaining go unanswered, depression and sadness can set in; you begin to realize that the person you love is never coming back, and you mourn that loss deeply. During this time you may withdraw from your friends and family and prefer to be alone in nursing your sadness. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration notes that traditional depression symptoms---sleeplessness, change in appetite, fatigue and sadness---often accompany this stage.
Acceptance
When you finally come to terms with the death, you experience the acceptance stage. Acceptance doesn't mean that you no longer feel sad over the loss; it means that you understand what has happened and no longer seek to change it. You find peace in the experience and allow yourself to begin the healing process. The journey to acceptance can be a long and arduous one; you may mourn for weeks or months, or you may need years to attain acceptance.
