stages of grief

We don’t talk about grief – we’re in the habit of sidelining mental health.

We live in a country where more or less everyone is a product – or byproduct – of war, trauma and loss. Yet when faced with grief, or when someone we love and care for is faced with it, we try our best to be there, be supportive, be aware and considerate, we try our best to deal with it, however we know how to.

The Kübler-Ross model states 5 stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. There’s also the 7 stages of grief, to which “shock”, “guilt” and “reconstruction” are added.

No matter how many stages, what’s common among people is that there are no fixed rules for grief. Like all things human, it’s a process. One stage precedes the other, some stages repeat again and again till a certain thought or feeling is processed properly and healed.

The key is healing.

And healing is in the process, however it happens and no matter how long it takes.

In this illustrated timeline, I wanted to show my process.

What’s your process? What has helped you heal?