The Myth About The 5 Stages Of Grief, ...and how they were misused and abused Options

[Furkidlets' Mom]

For any of you who have bought into the now-infamous "5 (set) Stages of Grief", here are some articles to set this mythical record straight. During the most intense phase of my grief over my fur-boy, I thankfully knew nothing of these supposed "stages" & allowed my grief to be whatever it was going to be. When I educated myself about them later on, I found out not only in retrospect from my own personal experiences (which belied this concept) but also from many more 'modern' therapists, that they were not necessarily true for any of us, especially not the idea that there was any particular "order" or "set stage" to them. It is because of what's been learned about their poor application to grief/grieving that more therapists today refer to these reactions more as "PHASES", which can come and go in no particular order, or re-occur anywhere in the grief process, however long or short that's going to be for you, individually. If you're confused about what you've probably just heard & blindly believed from the mainstream 'business' of grief, please read just these few articles on how this concept was bastardized and has unfortunately done countless grievers much harm.

"5 stages" Kubler-Ross's "greatest disappointment"
Beware The 5 Stages of "Grief"
The Myth of the Stages of Dying, Death & Grief

This is why I've not subscribed to any such "stages" and prefer to just let grief and its attendant emotions just be whatever & whenever they are going to be. Most newer books on grief also seek to dispel this myth.