# data[].attributes.body
Denial is the first stage of grief. Denial is a common defense mechanism used to protect oneself from the hardship of considering an upsetting reality. Basically, denial is when the person is refusing to accept or acknowledge the death.

When I lost my beagle, I immediately went to denial, saying to my parents "Haha, that's a bad joke." but my dad was crying and at that age I had never seen him cry, so I knew something was wrong.

# data[].attributes.body
Anger is the second stage of grief. Suppressing or swallowing the feelings delays coping, and moving forward. Many people do in fact feel angry when someone we love dies. Angry at being abandoned, angry at the extent of the pain, angry that our life is changed, angry that managing grief feels difficult, and angry that the world suddenly feels different—empty, unsafe, or lonely. Swallowed feelings don't disappear.

After a while of the denial with my dog, I started getting mad and thinking it was my fault! Then I was getting mad at the vets for not saving him! Then I was getting mad at my parents because I was in school, and they didn't pull me out! I'm still mad at the vets!

# data[].attributes.body
Bargaining is stage three of grief. During the bargaining stage, people will attempt to negotiate or compromise. We try to make agreements with ourselves, or a deal with a higher power, in exchange for feeling less sad or having a different outcome.

I don't think I even tried to bargain about Baxter (the beagle)

# data[].attributes.body
Depression is the fourth stage of grief. In this stage, we began to realize and feel the extent of the death or loss. Some of the symptoms for this stage is trouble sleeping, poor appetite, fatigue, lack of energy, and crying spells. In my opinion, this is the worst sate of ALL the stages.

Baxter died when I was in first grade at Greenhills, and I wore BLACK for a whole WEEK, maybe even more, cause I was devastated!

# data[].attributes.body
Acceptance is the last stage of grief! Acceptance is not necessarily a happy or uplifting stage of grief. It does, however, mean that you've accepted it and have to fully understand what it means in your life. I still haven't gotten to this one with Baxter, even if I have a new dog...