Kübler-Ross model OR the five stages of grief

Kübler-Ross originally applied these stages to people suffering from terminal illness, later to any form of catastrophic personal loss (job, income, freedom). This may also include significant life events such as the death of a loved one, divorce, drug addiction, the onset of a disease or chronic illness, an infertility diagnosis, as well many tragedies and disasters.

The stages, identified and described by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, are
denial and shock,
anger,
bargaining,
depression,
and acceptance.
The stages may occur in sequence or they may recur, as the person moves forward and backward
-especially among denial, anger, and bargaining.
At first, shock may be accompanied by signs of panic. The person may refuse other's care and deny the reality of the situation .
Denial serves as a defense against the shock.
Anger often follows this stage.
It is characterized by abusive language, refusal to discuss the situation, negative criticism of anyone who wants to help, and other kinds of angry behavior.
The third stage, bargaining, reflects the need of the person for time to accept the situation. A common observation of this period is the patient's attempt to make a bargain, "What if I were to..."
Commonly, the person goes back and forth from anger to bargaining: sometimes silent, sometimes grieving, and sometimes apathetic, depressed, insomniac, and distant.
The fourth stage is a time of depression in which the person goes through a period of grieving, mourning over past experiences and anticipating impending losses.
The final stage, acceptance, is one of inner peace and resolution that whatever happened is unchangeable and a certainty. The person may show his or her acceptance by being uninterested in present or future events, and behaving as if the situation has not occurred.

Kübler-Ross claimed these steps do not necessarily come in the order noted above, nor are all steps experienced by all individuals, though she stated a person will always experience at least two. Often, people will experience several stages in a "roller coaster" effect—switching between two or more stages, returning to one or more several times before working through it.

Significantly, people experiencing the stages should not force the process. The grief process is highly personal and should not be rushed, nor lengthened, on the basis of an individual's imposed time frame or opinion. One should merely be aware that the stages will be worked through and the ultimate stage of "Acceptance" will be reached.