Most people know the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance), but modern psychology is clear that grief does not always follow five neat, linear steps and several alternative “stage” or “phase” models exist.

Quick Scoop

  • The classic model describes 5 stages of grief : denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
  • Other models use 4 phases , 7 stages , or no fixed stages at all, focusing instead on waves or tasks of grieving.
  • Experts today stress that:
    • People may skip stages, repeat them, or feel several at once.
* Grief is individual; there is no “correct” number of stages or a right way to grieve.

The classic “5 stages” (Kübler‑Ross)

Originally developed by Elisabeth Kübler‑Ross to describe the emotional journey of people facing terminal illness, the model was later applied (sometimes too literally) to grief after a loss.

The five commonly cited stages:

  1. Denial – Numbness, disbelief, feeling like the loss “can’t be real”.
  1. Anger – Frustration, resentment, “Why is this happening?”.
  1. Bargaining – “If only…” thoughts or attempts (spiritual or mental) to negotiate the situation away.
  1. Depression – Deep sadness, withdrawal, feeling overwhelmed or hopeless.
  1. Acceptance – Beginning to live with the reality of the loss, even if it still hurts.

Kübler‑Ross herself and later researchers have emphasized that these are not rigid steps in order, and people do not always pass through all five.

Other grief models (4, 7, and more)

Because grief is complex, many clinicians and researchers prefer other frameworks:

  • Four phases of grief
    • Shock and numbness
    • Yearning and searching
    • Disorganization and despair
    • Reorganization and recovery
  • Seven stages of grief (popular self‑help/education versions)
    Commonly framed as: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing or reconstruction, and acceptance.
  • Expanded KĂźbler‑Ross
    Later editions of Kübler‑Ross’s work mention additional emotional responses such as shock, partial denial, anticipatory grief, hope, guilt, anxiety, and numbness, showing that even her own view became more flexible over time.

Why “how many stages?” is tricky

  • Psychological research has criticized strict stage models as too simplistic and sometimes unhelpful, especially if they make people feel they are “doing grief wrong”.
  • Contemporary grief work often:
    • Uses tasks , processes , or waves instead of fixed stages.
    • Emphasizes that culture, relationship, and type of loss strongly shape the experience.

So, when someone asks “how many stages of grief are there,” the most honest answer is:

  • Culturally famous: 5 stages.
  • In practice: multiple models (4, 5, 7, or more), and real‑life grief rarely fits clean stage boxes.

TL;DR: People often talk about five stages of grief, but modern understanding says grief is personal, non‑linear, and better seen as an individual process than a fixed set of steps.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.