Stage 2: Anger

 

There are five stages of grief: 

1. Denial,

2. Anger, 

3. Bargaining,

4. Depression, and

5. Acceptance.

And another fun fact, in case you haven't had the pleasure 😩 of experiencing this personally, is that when you deal with someone who has dementia, you go through the grief stages many times.  That's one thing that sucks about dementia; it takes the person away from you bit by bit.  It's awful.  It's like the reverse of watching your kid grow up and learn new skills.  And every time you realize they've lost a skill, you go through the stages of grief to some degree.  

Last week I realized I was firmly caught in stage 2. Anger.  I couldn't remember at the time where in the scale it was, I just remembered that it was a stage. And that I was in it.  And still am.

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I wrote the above on 10/31/2023, and it is now 11/12/2023.  Now I'm angry for an entirely different reason: that I didn't finish my original thoughts from when I originally started this post! (Ha, ha, ha.)  Because I know I had some really good thoughts to share on Anger.  But now? I'm not feeling it as much.  Which is good, in a way, because going around being angry at everything really isn't a great way to, you know, function productively.   Which is kind of, you know, a requirement of adulthood, at least in my world, since we are not independently wealthy.  

Another comment I want to make about the five stages of grief real quick, before I publish this post, is that they aren't necessarily experienced in order, either. I don't think I've been in the bargaining stage yet.  At least if I have, I haven't recognized it as such.  But Denial, Anger, and Depression, most definitely; and Acceptance, begrudgingly yes.  Although I think my Acceptance is not so much "It happened, and I'm okay with it," as it is, "It happened (or it's going to happen), and there's nothing i can do to change it."  I guess I don't know if that still qualifies as "Acceptance" or not.  I'll ask a therapist someday, perhaps.

But for now, I am going to sign off and go to bed.  I couldn't leave those three paragraphs just hanging, nor could I find it in my heart to just delete them, either.  So, here you go! One of my shortest and shallowest blog entries ever.  I'll post a real update soon.