It is generally accepted that there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Following a death, these stages can be done consecutively or in a mixed order. There is no proper way to manage grief other than to go through the entire process and not stay stuck in denial. However, when the cause of death is suicide, this adds an additional three stages to the grieving process and changes how the other stages are managed. Why? Suicide is a violent way to end a life leaving many unanswered questions, uncertainty of perception, insecurity of the relationship, and abandoned dreams. Here are the modified stages: At the initial onset is a refusal to believe what has occurred. “This can’t be happening,” “This must be a bad dream,” or “This isn’t real,” are all typical responses to hearing about a suicide. There is a sense of walking through stiff mud unable to move at a normal pace or being in the middle of a thick fog with zero visibility. Everything seems

Source: The Act of Suicide Adds to the Grieving Process | The Exhausted Woman