The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Grief refers to loss. The greater the loss, the greater the grief. Denial is a tough one. It was for me when my wife was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. The grief stages apply, in many ways, to all aspects of our lives. We experience a bad break up. We lose a job. We lose something we deeply believe in. It happens. Moving out of denial and into each of the successive stages is important if we are to remain emotionally healthy.