by Jennifer Hall

Created on: February 22, 2009   Last Updated: March 19, 2009

There are five stages of grief and loss. In this article you will learn what they are and what happens during these stages. Dealing with grief when you lose a loved one is always painful for anyone. These five stages might help people understand more about the grieving process.

The first stage of grief is denial and isolation. During this stage is when we tend to deny that the loss even happened. Sometimes this stage will last a few moments or longer.

The second stage is anger. At this stage the grieving person is furious at the person who inflicted the hurt (even if that person is dead.) The grieving person has also seemed to be mad at the world. They sometimes feel guilty because they could not have done anything to prevent the death.

The third stage is known as bargaining. The grieving person may start to make bargains with God asking, "If I do this will you take away the loss?"

The fourth stage is depression. This is when the grieving person may start to feel numb all over, but sometimes the anger and sadness is buried underneath.

The fifth and last stage is acceptance. This is when the anger, sadness, and mourning start to taper off. The grieving person finally accepts the reality of their loss. This is usually the point that the person starts to feel a little more like his or her old self again. A very good website to visit that has more tips on dealing with grief and loss is www.memorialhospital.org this website covers each of the five stages of grief and loss in depth.

In closing, you should have learned about the five stages of grief and loss. You should be able to better understand what is happening in each stage. The website listed above is a great site to go visit. It will help you in detail.

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