Here are the commonly described stages of grief and a brief note on how they’re used in practice.

• Five-stage model (often attributed to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross): Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance. This framework is frequently used to describe typical emotional responses after a loss, though not everyone experiences all stages or in a linear order. It’s best understood as a guide to common experiences rather than a rigid sequence.

• Alternative models highlight more or different phases. Examples include:
  • A seven-stage framework that adds elements like Shock and Denial, Pain and Guilt, The Upward Turn, Reconstruction, and Acceptance and Hope, among others, emphasizing a more granular progression through grief.

* A four-phase model focusing on Shock/Numbness, Yearning/Searching, Disorganization/Despair, and Reorganization/Recovery, which is often used in bereavement care discussions.

• Other summaries and regional adaptations:
  • Some sources describe five stages alongside or in place of other stage counts, noting that people may experience a mix of emotions (e.g., shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) rather than a strict sequence.

* Cruse and other grief organizations emphasize that these stages are conceptual tools to understand common reactions, not universal timelines or checkpoints.

If you’d like, I can tailor this to a specific situation (e.g., loss of a loved one, a breakup, or another kind of grief) and discuss how these stages might appear in real-life experiences, plus practical strategies for coping and seeking support.