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Written by Major Norm Beckett, Retired Officer in Canberra

I spend a lot of time speaking with people who’ve lost loved ones. Something I’ve noticed is that many of them are unable to understand what’s going on with their feelings. They believe that they’re wrong for feeling the way they do while coping with their grief.

Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross interviewed various terminally ill patients and their families while writing her famous book On Death and Dying. Kübler-Ross was able to identify five stages of grief that people feel following the loss of a loved one: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

The stages are a helpful navigator for people experiencing grief, although it’s important to note that everyone experiences them in different ways. The five stages are a model that allows people to understand how they feel following a loved one’s passing and that those feelings are normal.

Here is more information on those five stages:

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