Stages of Grief
The known five stages of grief, wherein a person suffering from a recent loss, will be experienced. Most of the time, these stages are various emotions that a person will experience in an orderly manner, but can be experienced differently from person to person. The five stages of grief are listed below:
- Denial is the first stage of emotion to be experienced, wherein the person will think that it didn’t happen in reality. In this stage, a person will experience shock and numbness, which acts as a defense mechanism against the surge of overwhelming emotions.
- Anger – in this stage, a person will experience frustration and the feeling of helplessness, in which both will turn into violence in the long run. This feeling will be mostly directed to someone or something, to vent it out from someone’s system, wherein it is considered a natural mechanism of the body coping to this sudden anger.
- Bargaining – on this stage, various thoughts on what a person could have done to prevent a loss will occur to their minds. The views of “What if…” and “If only…” will be familiar to their thoughts about the loss.
- Depression – the most crucial and dangerous stage of grief; this is where most people will experience sadness that may progress into depression. Common signs of depression are sleep issues, crying, and a decrease in appetite. Additionally, a person in this stage will also experience regret, loneliness, and an overwhelming feeling.
- Acceptance – the last stage of grief, people suffering from a loss will finally accept the reality of it, wherein the said loss cannot be changed. This will help them move on from this event in their lives.
Grief can be triggered again by reminders, like the death anniversary of the parted loved one or an activity that the said loved one has been known to participate in, in which the griever can re-experience one or more stages of grief.
Duration of Grieving
As for how long a person can grieve, currently, there is no “normal” on how long a grieving process would be. Many factors will be considered in how one will be grieving, like the personality of the person who experienced the loss, their age, current beliefs, their support network, and the type of injury. Additionally, time will also play a factor in the healing process from grieving.
