The Five Stages Of Grief

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"You will have bad times, but they will wake you up to the stuff you weren't paying attention to."- Robin Williams Everyone knows the gnawing feeling in your stomach when it feels as if life has taken a turn for the worst. It seems as if all hope is lost and you have hit *gasp* rock bottom. It is important that hope is kept throughout this mindset, however, because it is during those trying times that the most personal growth and development can occur. Once rock bottom is hit, the only place to go is up. In the end, those internal conflicts can allow you to see within yourself and heal relationships with others. Even though we live in a society where it can at times be difficult to express feelings needed for personal growth, it is important Through hurt and shock, the human brain can have difficulty processing why you may be hurting. That is when the body exhibits what is known as the "Stages of Grief". Elisabeth Kübler-Ross studied human behavior and is the founder of "The 5 Stages." Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal state in their article "Coping with Grief and Loss: Understanding the Grieving Process and Learning to Heal" say that each stage is unique and different to the individual. The stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. However, "You probably won't experience them in a neat, sequential order, so don't worry about what you 'should' be feeling or which stage you are supposed to be in."(Smith and Segal 2017). All these emotions are typical expressions of grief and are very normal and healthy. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's "5 Stages" are very common, but there are many who do not necessarily go through the stages. That is very common as well. Everyone has their own natural grieving process, and it is important that each individual is allowed to properly carry it For others, the healing process can be much more complicated. Loss affects each individual differently and for some, the hurt stays for a long time. Grief can develop into something known to psychiatrists as Complicated Grief. Complicated Grief is when after a certain span of time, the one mourning has still yet to accept what has happened to them. They are stuck in the same state of mourning as they were the day their event happened. When grief becomes complicated, it develops into clinical depression. “Remember, grief can be a roller coaster. It involves a wide variety of emotions and a mix of good and bad days. Even when you are in the middle of the grieving process, you will still have moments of pleasure or happiness. With depression, on the other hand, the feelings of emptiness and despair are constant.” (Smith and Segal 2017). Someone with clinical depression has trouble moving on past their heartbreak, and they dwell on it every day of their life. Someone with clinical depression or complicated grief also might have trouble communicating their feelings. Those with depression often have trouble distinguishing what exactly it is about their event that hurts them so much. It is important for those around the one hurting are sympathetic and ready to comfort and listen to their hurting loved

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