Grief is a really natural and necessary part of life. 

 

When you experience a loss of anything or anyone meaningful to you, it is important to allow yourself to grieve. 

 

There is no typical experience of grief because there is no typical loss, but there are 5 stages of grief that most people move through. 

 

Knowing these stages can be a helpful guide because they can help you to make sense of what you have been experiencing. 

 

The five stages are: 

 

Denial, 

anger, 

bargaining, 

depression 

and finally acceptance. 

 

Denial is like shock where what has happened doesn't feel real. 

 

Anger is where the emotions you feel ramp up in intensity as you try to understand why this has happened. 

 

Bargaining is where you think in terms of if only... if only something was different then maybe the circumstances could have been different. 

 

Depression (or sadness) is where the emotional experience feels lower... you feel upset and down. 

 

Acceptance doesn't mean getting over it, but it means coming to terms with and adjusting to the new reality. 

 

Whichever of these stages you find yourself in, know that it is a process you will move through. You don't necessarily go through all of these stages and you can often move back and forth through any of them. 

 

Regardless of where you may be in this grief cycle, grief is best to be shared, so connect with other people who can be there for you and help you.