Broken Relationship Grief What Stage Are You In

There are five stages to dealing with broken relationship grief, just as there are 5 stages to go through any emotional grief. Understanding where you are at and knowing that what you are feeling is all just part of a natural (though painful) process can help you get through your tough time.
The first stage is denial. This is where you convince yourself (or try to convince yourself) that your breakup didn't really occur. This also manifests itself as you waiting for the person to sit down with you at dinner or pick you up at work. In this stage, there are often no tears because the reality hasn't sunk in yet or you are not accepting or even acknowledging your loss.

The next stage is anger. This can be directed towards the world, at God ("Why me?!), at your ex and at yourself. In this stage you often want to get even with your ex or you act out towards others who try to help you.

Then comes the bargaining stage. This can actually come before you split definitively as well. Here is where you try to get him or her back by making deals or begging the person to return. You could also be bargaining with God or some higher power in this stage. . . "If you bring him/her back to me, I promise I'll go to church every Sunday. . ." This phase includes a great deal of pleading, wishing and praying for things to go back to normal.

The next step in dealing with broken relationship grief is depression. In this stage you may feel extremely sad or completely overwhelmed with hopelessness, frustration, bitterness, feeling sorry for yourself, and mourning. Here, any unacknowledged emotions have caught up with you and they're in full force. You see a different future than what you may be used to seeing and feel defenseless and numb.

Finally, and fortunately, you hit the acceptance stage. Here is where you accept the mistakes you have made and the results of those mistakes. Here is where you accept that the person is out of your life, or at least will not play the same role as they have until recently. It's important to note that acceptance is not resignation. You are not giving up in this stage. On the contrary, it is only now that you can start to gradually build your goals for the future and leave your relationship in the past. 

Eventually, you will get to the point that you can appreciate what you have learned in this tough period. It's also a good idea to get help or have a good friend that you can confide in regularly. Remember that you are not alone by any means and that you will survive, as have thousands of others when dealing with broken relationship grief.