Coping with Loss: Moving Through the Five Stages

The Grieving process can be difficult to put into words. One day may feel manageable, while the next brings sadness, anger, numbness, guilt, or memories that seem to arrive without warning. For someone trying to understand these changes, the familiar idea of the five Stages of Grief can provide useful language—but it should not be treated as a schedule for how grieving is supposed to happen.

Grief is personal. There is no single emotional sequence that everyone follows and no universal deadline for feeling better.

That distinction is especially meaningful around National Grief Awareness Day, observed each year on August 30. The awareness day creates an opportunity to recognize the many ways people experience loss, encourage compassionate conversations, and remind people who are grieving that support is available.

Understanding the stages of grief can be helpful when they are viewed as possible experiences rather than required steps.

What Are the Five Common Stages of Grief?

The five stages commonly associated with grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced this framework in her 1969 work on the experiences of people facing death. Over time, the model became widely associated with bereavement and other types of significant loss.

The American Psychological Association describes the model as hypothetical and explicitly notes that it is nonlinear. The stages do not necessarily occur in a particular order or last for a predetermined length of time. They may overlap, return, or not appear at all.

That means a person who feels acceptance one week and intense anger the next has not necessarily “gone backward.” Both emotions can be part of adapting to loss.

1. Denial

Denial can involve shock, disbelief, emotional numbness, or difficulty absorbing the reality of what has happened.

After a major loss, someone may understand intellectually that the loss occurred while still having moments when it does not feel real. This reaction can sometimes create emotional distance from an experience that feels overwhelming.

Denial does not necessarily mean a person is consciously refusing to acknowledge reality. It may simply describe the difficulty of adjusting to a life that has changed unexpectedly.

2. Anger

Grief can also involve anger.

That anger may be directed toward circumstances surrounding the loss, medical professionals, family members, oneself, spiritual beliefs, or even the person who died. Someone may also feel frustrated that other people’s lives appear to continue normally while theirs has changed dramatically.

Feeling anger during grief does not make someone uncaring or ungrateful. It is one of many emotional reactions that may occur after a significant loss.

3. Bargaining

Bargaining often involves thoughts about how events might have unfolded differently.

A grieving person might repeatedly think about questions such as, “What if I had noticed something sooner?” or “What if we had made a different decision?”

These thoughts can reflect a desire to find meaning or regain a sense of control after an event that cannot be changed.

For some people, bargaining is closely connected with guilt. When guilt becomes persistent, overwhelming, or interferes with daily functioning, discussing it with a licensed mental health professional may be helpful.

4. Depression

Sadness is a common part of grief, but grief and a depressive disorder are not automatically the same thing.

Someone who is grieving may experience crying, loneliness, low energy, difficulty concentrating, changes in sleep or appetite, or less interest in activities. The CDC notes that grief can involve emotional experiences such as sadness, helplessness, hopelessness, anger, numbness, and confusion, along with changes in energy, appetite, mood, and sleep.

Because grief and clinical depression can share some features, a licensed clinician can evaluate persistent or concerning symptoms and determine whether additional mental health care may be appropriate.

5. Acceptance

Acceptance is sometimes misunderstood as reaching a point where a person no longer misses someone or feels pain.

That is not necessarily what acceptance looks like.

Acceptance may instead involve gradually recognizing the reality of a loss and learning how to live in circumstances that have changed. A person may begin participating in meaningful activities again while continuing to experience sadness, love, longing, or memories connected with the person or life they lost.

Acceptance and grief can exist at the same time.

Why the Stages of Grief Aren’t Linear

The idea that people move neatly from denial to anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance can create unrealistic expectations.

Research and contemporary grief psychology do not support using the five stages as a mandatory sequence. The APA notes that people should not expect to progress through phases of grief as a fixed series of steps. There is also no single “normal” amount of time in which someone must complete the grieving process.

Grief can instead ebb and flow.

A person may feel relatively stable for weeks before an anniversary, song, photograph, holiday, smell, conversation, or familiar location suddenly brings the loss into sharper focus. These experiences do not necessarily mean that healing has stopped.

Psychological research discussed by the APA similarly describes grief as a process that can change over time rather than a staircase in which one emotion must be completed before another begins.

What People Often Get Wrong About the Stages of Grief

One of the biggest misconceptions is that there is a correct way to grieve.

Someone may never experience denial. Another person may feel anger and sadness simultaneously. Someone else may experience acceptance early and then struggle again months later.

None of these patterns alone means someone is grieving incorrectly.

Another misconception is that reaching acceptance means achieving “closure.” For many people, adapting to loss is less about permanently closing a chapter and more about learning how to carry the significance of that relationship or experience forward while continuing to live.

It is also important not to assume that every difficult grief response represents a mental health disorder. Grief is a natural response to loss. At the same time, professional evaluation can be appropriate when distress becomes persistent, overwhelming, creates substantial impairment, or raises safety concerns.

Grief Can Follow More Than the Death of a Loved One

Bereavement is one of the most recognizable forms of grief, but people can grieve many kinds of losses.

Divorce, the end of a relationship, serious illness, disability, pregnancy loss, loss of employment, relocation, changes in family relationships, traumatic events, and other major life transitions can all produce grief responses.

The CDC describes grief broadly as a response to loss and recognizes that experiences such as divorce, job loss, death, and major life changes may lead to grieving.

Recognizing this can matter because some losses receive less social acknowledgment than others. A person may be experiencing significant grief even when the people around them do not fully recognize the magnitude of what changed.

How to Deal With Grief Without Expecting a Straight Line

There is no single formula for how to deal with grief, and strategies that help one person may not feel appropriate for another.

Social connection can be important. Talking with trusted friends, relatives, support groups, spiritual communities, or mental health professionals may give someone space to express emotions without feeling pressured to “move on.”

Maintaining basic routines around sleep, meals, movement, work, and other responsibilities may also provide structure during periods when life feels unpredictable. The CDC recommends seeking comfort from trusted people, maintaining routines, finding meaningful ways to honor a loved one, and obtaining professional support when needed.

It is also reasonable for grief to require flexibility. A coping strategy that feels helpful today may not be what someone needs three months from now.

The goal does not have to be eliminating every reminder of the loss. For many people, adaptation involves gradually building a life in which memories, sadness, connection, and new experiences can coexist.

Grief, Substance Use, and Mental Health

For some people, grief can interact with existing mental health concerns or substance use.

Alcohol or drugs may temporarily seem to numb painful emotions, but using substances to avoid grief can introduce additional health and safety concerns. Someone who has a history of substance use disorder may also notice increased cravings or difficulty maintaining recovery during periods of significant loss.

When grief, substance use, anxiety, depression, trauma symptoms, or other mental health concerns begin interacting with one another, a professional assessment can help identify what level of care may be appropriate.

Stopping alcohol, benzodiazepines, or certain other substances abruptly can carry significant withdrawal risks. Anyone who may be physically dependent on a substance should speak with a medical professional rather than attempting an unsupervised detox. Medical detox may be necessary depending on the substance used, pattern of use, medical history, and other individual factors.

Grieving After a Suicide Loss

Grief following suicide can carry additional layers of shock, unanswered questions, guilt, anger, traumatic stress, or stigma.

A suicide loss survivor may repeatedly revisit the circumstances surrounding the death or wonder whether something could have been done differently. These experiences deserve compassionate, nonjudgmental support rather than assumptions about how the person “should” feel.

The CDC notes that losing someone to suicide can affect the health and well-being of surviving friends and family members. Survivors may experience prolonged grief, shock, anger, guilt, symptoms of depression or anxiety, and, for some people, suicidal thoughts. The CDC also notes that counseling, bereavement support groups, and other forms of post-loss support may be appropriate.

If grief following suicide is becoming increasingly difficult to manage, connecting with a clinician experienced in bereavement, trauma, or suicide-loss support may be especially valuable.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or an immediate mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If there is immediate danger, call 911 or seek emergency medical care.

When Can Grief Counseling Help?

Not everyone who experiences grief needs therapy. Many people gradually adapt to loss with time, supportive relationships, healthy routines, and their existing coping resources.

However, grief counseling may be worth considering when emotions feel increasingly difficult to manage, daily responsibilities become consistently hard to maintain, a person becomes significantly isolated, grief is interacting with trauma or substance use, or symptoms of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thinking emerge.

Professional support is not about forcing someone through the five stages. Effective care should make room for the individual’s circumstances, culture, relationships, beliefs, history, and personal experience of loss.

When Comparing Treatment Options, Here’s What to Look For

If grief has become connected with broader mental health or substance use concerns, choosing appropriate support involves more than finding a program that simply promises to make someone feel better.

Look for care provided by appropriately licensed or credentialed professionals; an individualized clinical assessment rather than a one-size-fits-all plan; treatment that recognizes co-occurring mental health and substance use concerns when relevant; clear explanations of available levels of care; and an environment that approaches grief without shame, pressure, or unrealistic promises.

The appropriate level and type of treatment varies from person to person. A qualified clinician can help determine whether outpatient counseling, structured mental health treatment, substance use treatment, medical detox, or another form of support is appropriate.

National Grief Awareness Day: Making Space for Grief on August 30

August 30 is National Grief Awareness Day, an annual observance centered on increasing understanding of grief and supporting people experiencing loss.

One meaningful way to recognize the day is to challenge the expectation that grieving people should recover according to a particular schedule.

Support can be as simple as listening without trying to fix someone’s feelings, remembering important anniversaries, continuing to check in after the first few weeks have passed, or helping someone connect with professional resources when they want or need additional support.

For the person who is grieving, National Grief Awareness Day can also serve as a reminder that there is no requirement to reach a particular stage by a particular date.

Your experience does not have to look like someone else’s to be real.

Finding Support at First City Recovery Center

Grief sometimes exists alongside depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use, or other behavioral health concerns. When these concerns begin affecting daily functioning or recovery, speaking with a licensed professional can help clarify what kind of support may be appropriate.

First City Recovery Center in Kokomo, Indiana provides mental health and substance use treatment across multiple levels of care, including medical detox, residential treatment, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient treatment, and outpatient programming.

Treatment recommendations should always be based on an individual’s clinical needs. If you are unsure whether you or someone you care about needs behavioral health treatment, consider speaking with a licensed clinician for an individualized assessment.

Individual experiences with treatment and recovery vary.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Stages of Grief

What are the five stages of grief?

The five commonly discussed stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. They can help describe experiences some people have following a loss, but they are not a required or universal sequence.

Do the stages of grief happen in order?

No. The American Psychological Association describes the grief-stage model as nonlinear. A person may experience stages in a different order, return to certain emotions, experience several simultaneously, or never experience some of them.

How long does grief last?

There is no universal timeline. The intensity and duration of grief can vary according to the loss, the relationship involved, personal circumstances, available support, previous experiences, and many other factors. The APA specifically notes that there is no single “normal” period for grieving.

Is it normal for grief to return after I thought I was doing better?

Yes. Anniversaries, holidays, places, music, conversations, and unexpected reminders can bring grief back into focus. Changes in grief intensity do not automatically mean someone has lost progress.

When should someone consider professional help for grief?

Consider speaking with a licensed clinician when grief is causing substantial or persistent problems with daily functioning, feels increasingly difficult to manage, is accompanied by significant depression or anxiety symptoms, interacts with substance use, or involves thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

What should I say to someone who is grieving?

Listening is often more helpful than explaining the loss or urging someone to move on. Acknowledge what happened, let the person talk when they want to, offer practical support, and continue checking in over time.

A Compassionate Reflection on Grief and Healing

The five stages can provide words for experiences that otherwise feel difficult to describe. They become less helpful when they are treated as rules.

Grief may move forward, backward, sideways, or seem quiet for a period before becoming noticeable again. The goal is not to complete five emotional tasks perfectly. It is to gradually find ways to live with what has changed while receiving appropriate support when it is needed.

On National Grief Awareness Day, August 30, and throughout the year, making room for grief’s complexity can foster a better understanding of what grieving truly looks like.

Medical Disclaimer: This article is intended for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for diagnosis, treatment, or individualized medical or mental health advice. Speak with a licensed healthcare or mental health professional about concerns specific to you or someone you care about.

Related Posts

Accessibility Toolbar

The Stages of Grief: What They Are and Why They Aren't Linear

Aug 27, 2026

Mental Health

Coping with Loss: Moving Through the Five Stages

The Grieving process can be difficult to put into words. One day may feel manageable, while the next brings sadness, anger, numbness, guilt, or memories that seem to arrive without warning. For someone trying to understand these changes, the familiar idea of the five Stages of Grief can provide useful language—but it should not be treated as a schedule for how grieving is supposed to happen.

Grief is personal. There is no single emotional sequence that everyone follows and no universal deadline for feeling better.

That distinction is especially meaningful around National Grief Awareness Day, observed each year on August 30. The awareness day creates an opportunity to recognize the many ways people experience loss, encourage compassionate conversations, and remind people who are grieving that support is available.

Understanding the stages of grief can be helpful when they are viewed as possible experiences rather than required steps.

What Are the Five Common Stages of Grief?

The five stages commonly associated with grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced this framework in her 1969 work on the experiences of people facing death. Over time, the model became widely associated with bereavement and other types of significant loss.

The American Psychological Association describes the model as hypothetical and explicitly notes that it is nonlinear. The stages do not necessarily occur in a particular order or last for a predetermined length of time. They may overlap, return, or not appear at all.

That means a person who feels acceptance one week and intense anger the next has not necessarily “gone backward.” Both emotions can be part of adapting to loss.

1. Denial

Denial can involve shock, disbelief, emotional numbness, or difficulty absorbing the reality of what has happened.

After a major loss, someone may understand intellectually that the loss occurred while still having moments when it does not feel real. This reaction can sometimes create emotional distance from an experience that feels overwhelming.

Denial does not necessarily mean a person is consciously refusing to acknowledge reality. It may simply describe the difficulty of adjusting to a life that has changed unexpectedly.

2. Anger

Grief can also involve anger.

That anger may be directed toward circumstances surrounding the loss, medical professionals, family members, oneself, spiritual beliefs, or even the person who died. Someone may also feel frustrated that other people's lives appear to continue normally while theirs has changed dramatically.

Feeling anger during grief does not make someone uncaring or ungrateful. It is one of many emotional reactions that may occur after a significant loss.

3. Bargaining

Bargaining often involves thoughts about how events might have unfolded differently.

A grieving person might repeatedly think about questions such as, “What if I had noticed something sooner?” or “What if we had made a different decision?”

These thoughts can reflect a desire to find meaning or regain a sense of control after an event that cannot be changed.

For some people, bargaining is closely connected with guilt. When guilt becomes persistent, overwhelming, or interferes with daily functioning, discussing it with a licensed mental health professional may be helpful.

4. Depression

Sadness is a common part of grief, but grief and a depressive disorder are not automatically the same thing.

Someone who is grieving may experience crying, loneliness, low energy, difficulty concentrating, changes in sleep or appetite, or less interest in activities. The CDC notes that grief can involve emotional experiences such as sadness, helplessness, hopelessness, anger, numbness, and confusion, along with changes in energy, appetite, mood, and sleep.

Because grief and clinical depression can share some features, a licensed clinician can evaluate persistent or concerning symptoms and determine whether additional mental health care may be appropriate.

5. Acceptance

Acceptance is sometimes misunderstood as reaching a point where a person no longer misses someone or feels pain.

That is not necessarily what acceptance looks like.

Acceptance may instead involve gradually recognizing the reality of a loss and learning how to live in circumstances that have changed. A person may begin participating in meaningful activities again while continuing to experience sadness, love, longing, or memories connected with the person or life they lost.

Acceptance and grief can exist at the same time.

Why the Stages of Grief Aren't Linear

The idea that people move neatly from denial to anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance can create unrealistic expectations.

Research and contemporary grief psychology do not support using the five stages as a mandatory sequence. The APA notes that people should not expect to progress through phases of grief as a fixed series of steps. There is also no single “normal” amount of time in which someone must complete the grieving process.

Grief can instead ebb and flow.

A person may feel relatively stable for weeks before an anniversary, song, photograph, holiday, smell, conversation, or familiar location suddenly brings the loss into sharper focus. These experiences do not necessarily mean that healing has stopped.

Psychological research discussed by the APA similarly describes grief as a process that can change over time rather than a staircase in which one emotion must be completed before another begins.

What People Often Get Wrong About the Stages of Grief

One of the biggest misconceptions is that there is a correct way to grieve.

Someone may never experience denial. Another person may feel anger and sadness simultaneously. Someone else may experience acceptance early and then struggle again months later.

None of these patterns alone means someone is grieving incorrectly.

Another misconception is that reaching acceptance means achieving “closure.” For many people, adapting to loss is less about permanently closing a chapter and more about learning how to carry the significance of that relationship or experience forward while continuing to live.

It is also important not to assume that every difficult grief response represents a mental health disorder. Grief is a natural response to loss. At the same time, professional evaluation can be appropriate when distress becomes persistent, overwhelming, creates substantial impairment, or raises safety concerns.

Grief Can Follow More Than the Death of a Loved One

Bereavement is one of the most recognizable forms of grief, but people can grieve many kinds of losses.

Divorce, the end of a relationship, serious illness, disability, pregnancy loss, loss of employment, relocation, changes in family relationships, traumatic events, and other major life transitions can all produce grief responses.

The CDC describes grief broadly as a response to loss and recognizes that experiences such as divorce, job loss, death, and major life changes may lead to grieving.

Recognizing this can matter because some losses receive less social acknowledgment than others. A person may be experiencing significant grief even when the people around them do not fully recognize the magnitude of what changed.

How to Deal With Grief Without Expecting a Straight Line

There is no single formula for how to deal with grief, and strategies that help one person may not feel appropriate for another.

Social connection can be important. Talking with trusted friends, relatives, support groups, spiritual communities, or mental health professionals may give someone space to express emotions without feeling pressured to “move on.”

Maintaining basic routines around sleep, meals, movement, work, and other responsibilities may also provide structure during periods when life feels unpredictable. The CDC recommends seeking comfort from trusted people, maintaining routines, finding meaningful ways to honor a loved one, and obtaining professional support when needed.

It is also reasonable for grief to require flexibility. A coping strategy that feels helpful today may not be what someone needs three months from now.

The goal does not have to be eliminating every reminder of the loss. For many people, adaptation involves gradually building a life in which memories, sadness, connection, and new experiences can coexist.

Grief, Substance Use, and Mental Health

For some people, grief can interact with existing mental health concerns or substance use.

Alcohol or drugs may temporarily seem to numb painful emotions, but using substances to avoid grief can introduce additional health and safety concerns. Someone who has a history of substance use disorder may also notice increased cravings or difficulty maintaining recovery during periods of significant loss.

When grief, substance use, anxiety, depression, trauma symptoms, or other mental health concerns begin interacting with one another, a professional assessment can help identify what level of care may be appropriate.

Stopping alcohol, benzodiazepines, or certain other substances abruptly can carry significant withdrawal risks. Anyone who may be physically dependent on a substance should speak with a medical professional rather than attempting an unsupervised detox. Medical detox may be necessary depending on the substance used, pattern of use, medical history, and other individual factors.

Grieving After a Suicide Loss

Grief following suicide can carry additional layers of shock, unanswered questions, guilt, anger, traumatic stress, or stigma.

A suicide loss survivor may repeatedly revisit the circumstances surrounding the death or wonder whether something could have been done differently. These experiences deserve compassionate, nonjudgmental support rather than assumptions about how the person “should” feel.

The CDC notes that losing someone to suicide can affect the health and well-being of surviving friends and family members. Survivors may experience prolonged grief, shock, anger, guilt, symptoms of depression or anxiety, and, for some people, suicidal thoughts. The CDC also notes that counseling, bereavement support groups, and other forms of post-loss support may be appropriate.

If grief following suicide is becoming increasingly difficult to manage, connecting with a clinician experienced in bereavement, trauma, or suicide-loss support may be especially valuable.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or an immediate mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If there is immediate danger, call 911 or seek emergency medical care.

When Can Grief Counseling Help?

Not everyone who experiences grief needs therapy. Many people gradually adapt to loss with time, supportive relationships, healthy routines, and their existing coping resources.

However, grief counseling may be worth considering when emotions feel increasingly difficult to manage, daily responsibilities become consistently hard to maintain, a person becomes significantly isolated, grief is interacting with trauma or substance use, or symptoms of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thinking emerge.

Professional support is not about forcing someone through the five stages. Effective care should make room for the individual's circumstances, culture, relationships, beliefs, history, and personal experience of loss.

When Comparing Treatment Options, Here's What to Look For

If grief has become connected with broader mental health or substance use concerns, choosing appropriate support involves more than finding a program that simply promises to make someone feel better.

Look for care provided by appropriately licensed or credentialed professionals; an individualized clinical assessment rather than a one-size-fits-all plan; treatment that recognizes co-occurring mental health and substance use concerns when relevant; clear explanations of available levels of care; and an environment that approaches grief without shame, pressure, or unrealistic promises.

The appropriate level and type of treatment varies from person to person. A qualified clinician can help determine whether outpatient counseling, structured mental health treatment, substance use treatment, medical detox, or another form of support is appropriate.

National Grief Awareness Day: Making Space for Grief on August 30

August 30 is National Grief Awareness Day, an annual observance centered on increasing understanding of grief and supporting people experiencing loss.

One meaningful way to recognize the day is to challenge the expectation that grieving people should recover according to a particular schedule.

Support can be as simple as listening without trying to fix someone's feelings, remembering important anniversaries, continuing to check in after the first few weeks have passed, or helping someone connect with professional resources when they want or need additional support.

For the person who is grieving, National Grief Awareness Day can also serve as a reminder that there is no requirement to reach a particular stage by a particular date.

Your experience does not have to look like someone else's to be real.

Finding Support at First City Recovery Center

Grief sometimes exists alongside depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use, or other behavioral health concerns. When these concerns begin affecting daily functioning or recovery, speaking with a licensed professional can help clarify what kind of support may be appropriate.

First City Recovery Center in Kokomo, Indiana provides mental health and substance use treatment across multiple levels of care, including medical detox, residential treatment, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient treatment, and outpatient programming.

Treatment recommendations should always be based on an individual's clinical needs. If you are unsure whether you or someone you care about needs behavioral health treatment, consider speaking with a licensed clinician for an individualized assessment.

Individual experiences with treatment and recovery vary.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Stages of Grief

What are the five stages of grief?

The five commonly discussed stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. They can help describe experiences some people have following a loss, but they are not a required or universal sequence.

Do the stages of grief happen in order?

No. The American Psychological Association describes the grief-stage model as nonlinear. A person may experience stages in a different order, return to certain emotions, experience several simultaneously, or never experience some of them.

How long does grief last?

There is no universal timeline. The intensity and duration of grief can vary according to the loss, the relationship involved, personal circumstances, available support, previous experiences, and many other factors. The APA specifically notes that there is no single “normal” period for grieving.

Is it normal for grief to return after I thought I was doing better?

Yes. Anniversaries, holidays, places, music, conversations, and unexpected reminders can bring grief back into focus. Changes in grief intensity do not automatically mean someone has lost progress.

When should someone consider professional help for grief?

Consider speaking with a licensed clinician when grief is causing substantial or persistent problems with daily functioning, feels increasingly difficult to manage, is accompanied by significant depression or anxiety symptoms, interacts with substance use, or involves thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

What should I say to someone who is grieving?

Listening is often more helpful than explaining the loss or urging someone to move on. Acknowledge what happened, let the person talk when they want to, offer practical support, and continue checking in over time.

A Compassionate Reflection on Grief and Healing

The five stages can provide words for experiences that otherwise feel difficult to describe. They become less helpful when they are treated as rules.

Grief may move forward, backward, sideways, or seem quiet for a period before becoming noticeable again. The goal is not to complete five emotional tasks perfectly. It is to gradually find ways to live with what has changed while receiving appropriate support when it is needed.

On National Grief Awareness Day, August 30, and throughout the year, making room for grief’s complexity can foster a better understanding of what grieving truly looks like.

Medical Disclaimer: This article is intended for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for diagnosis, treatment, or individualized medical or mental health advice. Speak with a licensed healthcare or mental health professional about concerns specific to you or someone you care about.

Scroll to Top