Kübler-Ross Model Also known as the five stages of grief, the Kübler-Ross model suggests that people often manage grief in five different stages. Sometimes these stages overlap or are experienced in a different order, but the researchers suggest that everyone experiences these stages at some point in their grieving process. Stage 1: Denial – believing something isn’t true and holding on to a false reality. Stage 2: Anger – accepting the truth and becoming frustrated by the situation and what has happened. Stage 3: Bargaining – trying to avoid the grief by trying to seek a compromise (usually with a ‘higher power’). Stage 4: Depression – going into a despair and thinking that one’s own life is not important. Stage 5: Acceptance – coming to realise nothing can change the situation and that life must move forward. The model suggests that these grief stages are applicable in any situation where there is a loss, not just when losing a loved one. Further research has also been done to suggest there may even be a sixth stage of grief – meaning. Manage Cookie Preferences